Monday, April 7, 2003
Press Release
SOURCE: International Biometric Group

Microsoft Sponsors Round Five of International Biometric Group's Comparative Biometric Testing

New York, NY—April 7, 2003—International Biometric Group (IBG) announced today that Microsoft is an official sponsor of Round Five of IBG's Comparative Biometric Testing, which will begin in mid-2003.

IBG's Comparative Biometric Testing is the industry's leading independent comparative biometric test effort. IBG's Comparative Biometric Testing provides critical data for major corporations and government agencies around the world planning large-scale biometric deployments or investments, particularly in applications such as border security, air travel, and enterprise security.

IBG has been conducting Comparative Biometric Testing since 1998. The Testing emulates real-world operating conditions using live subjects, generating dozens of performance metrics, including false acceptance, false rejection, and failure to enroll rates.

In each Comparative Biometric Testing round, IBG tests approximately ten systems from leading vendors, selected from the range of biometric technologies: finger, face, iris, hand, voice, keystroke and signature. To date, IBG has tested more than 40 systems from vendors such as Identix, Viisage, DigitalPersona, Sagem, Ultra-Scan, STMicroelectronics, Bioscrypt, Recognition Systems, Nuance, SecuGen, Fujitsu, Iridian, Precise Biometrics, Siemens, Sony, AcSys Biometrics, ActivCard, Cyber-SIGN, and BioPassword. 

Organizations can participate in Comparative Biometric Testing in one of two ways:

SPONSORSHIP: A limited number of sponsorship opportunities are still available. Comparative Biometric Test Sponsors pre-purchase the Report and nominate a biometric system to be tested. In addition to receiving full Round Five results upon completion, Test Sponsors play an important advisory role in IBG's Comparative Biometric Testing, ensuring that test execution and reporting methods are consistent with the expectations of public and private sector institutions. This is a valuable opportunity for organizations that have a vested interest in biometric technologies. As part of their sponsorship, Test Sponsors receive strategic and technical consultation on biometric issues from IBG after test completion. Sponsors of past Comparative Biometric Test rounds include American Airlines, EDS, Fidelity Investments, Financial Services Technology Consortium, Lockheed Martin, Citibank, Chase, Visa, Wells Fargo and Star Systems. Biometric vendors are not permitted as Test Sponsors. 

PRE-PURCHASER: Any organization may pre-purchase the Round Five Comparative Biometric Test Report and nominate a biometric system to be tested. Pre-purchasers receive the full Round Five Report upon Test completion.

Potential Sponsors or pre-purchasers interested in participating should contact Trevor Prout at 212-809-9491 or Contact@biometricgroup.com. For more information about IBG's Comparative Biometric Testing, please visit: www.biometricgroup.com/cbt.html.

About International Biometric Group

International Biometric Group is the leading biometric integration and consulting firm, addressing the identification and authentication needs of mid to large size organizations. IBG brings direct, hands-on expertise in all leading biometric technologies, including multiple-biometric systems. IBG works on behalf of both private and government clients to evaluate, design, and integrate biometric solutions for public sector programs, network security, Internet applications, point of sale applications, physical access, and smart card systems. Learn more at http://www.biometricgroup.com.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device. 

CONTACT: Trevor Prout
International Biometric Group
PH: 212-809-9491
Contact@biometricgroup.com