FC: Visionics facecam firm says tech is perfect for airports

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

**********

Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 19:17:19 -0500
From: Robert Sweeney <rsweeney () anet-stl com>
To: declan () well com
Subject: V I S I O N I C S Corporation > Newroom > Press Releases

I thought you might have something to say about this. Privacy advocates 
would probably liken a computer which scans the crowds for 'terrorists' to 
be a step down the road to 'big brother' as we wonder what other groups it 
would be set to look for.

I, of course, am more relaxed. As I see it, the system isn't set up to be 
an invasion of privacy or unconstitutional search and ceasure if it only 
looks for people who are wanted for questioning by the Feds or police. That 
would just mean that a suspected criminal can't hide very well. However, if 
they database back end amounted to little more than 'racial profiling', 
that would be a different matter. In that case, they have no *reason* to be 
looking for those people according to our idea of constitutional rights.

I don't really think such a system would have helped prevent the 9-11 
attacks, simply because I don't think they used people who would have been 
in a database of people suspected of being involved in terrorist groups. A 
computer is only as good as the data it's given to work with, after all. I 
don't think the terrorists were known beforehand as being suspect, thus 
they wouldn't be identified by this face scanning technology simply because 
there was no pre-existing reason for them to be in a database of 
'suspicious' individuals.

Your mileage may vary...

Bob


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http://ir.shareholder.com/vsnx/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=59253

Visionics Corporation Announces Framework for Protecting Civilization from 
the Faces of Terror

Issues White Paper Analyzing the Role Facial Recognition Technologies Can 
Play in Improving Airport Security

JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY – September 24, 2001 – In an effort to address the 
heightened security concerns in the wake of the September 11 terrorist 
attacks on America, Visionics Corporation (Nasdaq:VSNX), the worldwide 
leader in identification technologies and systems, announced today a 
comprehensive framework for the use of facial recognition technology in 
enhancing airport security. The Company has detailed the elements of this 
framework in a white paper entitled, Protecting Civilization from the Faces 
of Terror: A Primer on the Role Facial Recognition Technology Can Play in 
Improving Airport Security. Cognizant of privacy concerns, this document 
also addresses the need for responsible use guidelines to prevent any 
misuse of these technologies.

"Terror is not faceless. This means that we can act to restore public 
confidence and safety by creating intelligence-based identification 
systems, in essence, databases of terrorists' faces and identities, which 
are used to track the whereabouts of terrorists, through computerized 
facial recognition, as they travel from country to country. Paramount to 
building this protective shield, however, is delivering today a scalable 
platform which can tie into unlimited number of cameras and into a wide 
network of intelligence databases. Our Biometric Network Platform does 
exactly that. It incorporates our leading FaceIt® technology, and, by 
adhering to industry standards for responsible use, can be deployed without 
posing a threat to our privacy," said Dr. Joseph J. Atick, chairman and CEO 
of Visionics Corporation.

Protecting Civilization from the Faces of Terror identifies five key areas 
relating to the use of biometric technologies for airport security:

Facial Screening and Surveillance: General surveillance of crowds at 
airports, preventing the issuance of travel documents to known terrorists 
and detecting tampered and fraudulent travel documents.
Automated Biometric-Based Boarding: Modify the boarding process to require 
an instantaneous terrorist background check on each passenger upon check-in 
and boarding by searching facial images against intelligence databases of 
terrorists and their affiliates.
Screening of Airport Employees: Require criminal background checks through 
fingerprint and facial recognition at all airports and for all airport 
employees.
Physical Security: Improve access control systems for entry to tarmac, 
gates and other secure areas through biometrics.
Intelligence Data Mining: Support the development of an infrastructure is 
capable of gathering, analyzing and linking information regarding 
terrorists and their accomplices across international, national and agency 
jurisdictions. A refocus on security with face recognition as part of 
intelligence gathering and execution is therefore called for.

The privacy protection principles endorsed in this document are: (a) public 
knowledge; (b) maintaining database integrity; © no match – no memory; (d) 
authorized operation and access; and (d) enforcement and penalty.

Protecting Civilization from the Faces of Terror will be made available for 
download at 
http://www.visionics.com/newsroom/downloads/whitepapers/counterterrorism.pdf

About Visionics Corporation

Visionics Corporation (Nasdaq:VSNX) is the worldwide leader in 
identification technologies and systems. The Company is uniquely positioned 
with a comprehensive set of biometric identification product offerings: 
FaceIt®, live scan, IBIS and BNP. The award-winning core FaceIt® technology 
enables a broad range of products and applications built by partners (OEMs, 
VARs and system integrators). These include enhanced CCTV systems, identity 
fraud applications and identity verification systems for physical and 
network security, travel and banking. The TENPRINTER and FingerPrinter CMS 
live scan systems are the most widely used by government agencies, law 
enforcement, airports, banks and other commercial institutions in the US. 
IBIS is a revolutionary mobile identification system capable of capturing 
both forensic quality fingerprints and photographs for transmission and 
wireless transmitting the data to law enforcement and other legacy 
databases for real-time identification. Finally, the BNP is the only 
commercially available platform for delivering scalable biometric 
solutions. It incorporates FaceIt® technology for implementation over 
large-scale networks and real-time identification. The product offerings 
are reflective of Visionics' leadership position in the biometric industry 
and commitment to the innovation of identification technologies.

More information on Visionics can be accessed via the Company web site at 
http://www.visionics.com or by calling Frances Zelazny, Director of 
Corporate Communications at +1 201-332-9213.

This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to 
certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ 
materially from those projected on the basis of such forward-looking 
statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management's 
beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently 
available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the 
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For a more complete 
description of these and other risk factors which may affect the future 
performance of Visionics Corporation, see "Risk Factors" in Digital 
Biometrics' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended September 30, 
2000 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 
2001, Form 8-K dated February 15, 2001 and the related Form 8-K/A, all of 
which have been filed with the SEC.

  OR TOP OF PAGE

CONTACT:
Bob Gallagher,
Chief Financial Officer,
952-932-0888
Frances Zelazny,
Director of Corporate Communications,
201-332-9213




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