SchlumergerSema has allied with Sweden's Precise Biometrics to incorporate fingerprint technology into its Cyberflex Access and Palmera Java-based smart cards.
The integration enables SchlumbergerSema to bring to market smart cards that use the card-owner's fingerprint as identification authentication instead of, or in addition to, a personal identification number (PIN).
Precise Biometrics' fingerprint recognition system authenticates the user by matching the print to one digitally stored on the smart card. As a result, the data can be computed directly on the card without the need to rely on the availability or speed of a network for validation. In the SchlumbergerSema application, the authentication capability may be directly accessed via the card's API, improving the performance and allowing other card applications to use the function.
"Verifying a digital imprint with the user's actual fingerprint is a highly secure means of authentication, but has remained a major challenge because the critical data for authenticating the fingerprint had to be stored on the network," states Mårten Öbrink, deputy CEO at Precise Biometrics. "Today, SchlumbergerSema advanced smart cards can perform this task adding a highly portable layer of security for sensitive logical access applications such as network access, as well as acting as personal biometric tokens for increased security in physical access installations."