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| Hitachi and GenKey entered into an alliance to provide high end security solutions |
Hitachi Europe Ltd. announced that it is entering an initial phase of collaboration with GenKey, a leading provider of ISO 24745 compliant Privacy Enhancing Technology (PET). In Hitachi's system the finger is scanned to create what is described as a biometric template. The system works by transmission of near infra-red light into the finger from LEDs inside the scanner. Light penetrates the finger and is absorbed by the haemoglobin within the finger veins, creating an image for capture by CCD camera. The image is processed to create a finger vein pattern that is digitised, compressed and stored as template data.
The benefits of Hitachi's system, which is virtually error free, include: the finger vein pattern inside the finger cannot be acquired easily without consent; processing time is very fast (around 0.5 seconds to acquire, process and validate) and there is no link to criminality as in the case of finger-print systems. GenKey is the leading provider of ISO 24745 compliant PET that eliminates privacy and security concerns in biometric deployments. The Biogas solution stores and matches fingerprint information using an irreversible binary hash code. The same hash technology is routinely used in securing PIN codes in financial transactions and passwords in IT security.
Ravi Ahluwalia, Deputy General Manager, Information Systems Group, at Hitachi Europe Ltd. said: "Working together will provide a great benefit for both Hitachi and GenKey, as our technologies perfectly complement each other to expand our ability to support various needs for PET technologies. Vein ID has gone from strength to strength in Japan and Europe over the last years and this collaboration will further enhance market penetration while ensuring the highest level of data security for end-users."
"I am very excited about this collaboration as this brings together key elements in biometrics" says Michiel van der Veen, CEO of GenKey, "Hitachi's traceless technology and GenKey's secure and private storage with extremely fast matching capabilities creates a solution that will be the standard in biometric deployments."