Toronto Star

Canadian firm fingerprints N.Y. cops

Bioscrypt software key to police-headquarters security Project could include 200,000 government employees

July 18, 2003
By Tyler Hamilton

By the end of this year, the New York police department will fingerprint more than 55,000 men and women in blue and city employees as part of a new high-tech security system powered by Canadian biometrics technology.

Mississauga-based Bioscrypt Inc., a provider of fingerprint recognition software and scanning equipment, said yesterday its V-Smart fingerprint readers will be used to control sensitive entry points at NYPD headquarters.

Thousands of officers and government workers affected by the program will be issued new badges containing digital copies of their fingerprints. When these employees reach an entrance, they must wave their badge near the V-Smart reader and then place a finger on the scanner.

If the digital copy on the badge matches the fingerprint, they are granted entry.

Assuming all goes well at headquarters, the project will likely be expanded to include more than 200,000 government employees through the city and state, said Julia Webb, vice-president of global sales and marketing at Bioscrypt.

"This has opened up a phenomenal opportunity for Bioscrypt, for all our access readers and for installations around New York City where security is clearly a concern," she said.

No dollar figures were attached to the deal, but investors bought into the potential impact on revenues.

Shares in Bioscrypt soared 23 per cent or 14 cents yesterday to 74 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange. About 1.3 million shares traded, or more than 30 times the average daily trading volume over the past year.

Webb said the deal with the New York police follows a similar security system installed at American Express's New York headquarters, which was damaged by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, resulting in several employee deaths.

Since then, an increasing number of government agencies and large corporations have looked at ways to improve building security and employee safety.

Other high-profile Bioscrypt customers include Continental Airlines, NATO and NASA.

"This contract is validation of the technology, and it's a great reference deal for Bioscrypt," said one financial analyst who follows the market.

"It's one contract, but they're in the door now for the NYPD. And that doesn't mean L.A., Atlanta or Washington (won't follow). What's good about the NYPD contract is they can market the hell out of it."

Biometric technologies, such as the proposed national identity card for Canadians, have been widely criticized for their potential impact on individual privacy. But advocates of the technology say measures can be taken to prevent misuse and abuse.

Webb said the digital fingerprints of police staff remain in their badges, under the control of the individual, rather than in a central database that could be accessed by unauthorized people.

New York-based consultancy International Biometric Group estimates the market for finger-scanning technology will jump to $1.23 billion (U.S.) in 2007 from $144 million last year. Of that market, more than half of revenues are expected to come from building access and time-attendance systems.