Bell ID has a strong track record in government ID, with an impressive selection of international references in the government sector going back over several years.

Be it national ID card schemes, FIPS 201 /PIV-compliant ID cards , e-Passport solutions or PKI-based government ID badges, ANDiS Management Systems offer a complete set of government-specific modules providing the means to integrate the ANDiS Card & Application Management System into an existing IT infrastructure and add new infrastructure components, like biometrics solutions, AFIS systems, IDMS solutions, provisioning software, CA packages or HSMs.

For more information specifically on the FIPS 201 standard please click here .

Serving the citizen
In recent years many governments have considered the introduction of nationwide smart ID card schemes to better serve citizens and to enhance (national) security, whether or not initiated by recent tragic events. For many people it has become clear that the introduction of an ID card is a measure that needs to be taken to improve their security.

However, in the past, ID cards have been abused to discriminate against people and seen as an assault on personal privacy. This caused a slow down in the adoption of smart ID cards. Today, however, forger-proof ID cards can provide cardholders with safe, convenient access to public services and secured channels for electronic transactions, driver's licence issuance, e-purse - and other functionalities that the future holds.

In order to launch a successful smart ID card program, a government needs to supply not only card functions for its own benefit but also functions that benefit the cardholder. Smart ID cards can be made more attractive by giving the ID card ‘convenience’ functionalities for the cardholder.

Security and privacy
Several applications have been identified that can stimulate the adoption of a national ID card: such as medical card, social security card, driving license, student card, public transport access and e-purse. As a multi-application smart ID card will contain much private information it is important that the information on the smart card is highly secure. Health information on the card, for example, will improve medical aid but also implies a potential threat to privacy. It is important that the medical data is highly secure and can only be read and altered by authorised people.

Current smart ID cards have the advantage that, due to encryption and biometric identification techniques, they provide much higher security. With improved identification it is possible to reduce identity fraud. In order to prevent forgery built-in security features can be added. A key element in this respect is the use of biometrics (fingerprint matching) for automated identity verification. Other advanced security features in the card itself, and in the chipset, can provide protection against hacking or copying.

For more information on the FIPS 201 standard please click here .

Future-proofing
Authorities considering implementing smart ID cards must incorporate future-proofing; designing their cardsystem in such a way that applications can be added and removed at a later stage. ANDiS^© Post Issuance Personalisation allows cardholders to download additional future applications to their cards via public kiosks or the internet.

ANDiS^© Management Systems enable the issuance and management of national ID cards, the applications on the card, local terminals and PKI key pairs with the highest possible security. Furthermore, ANDiS^© facilitates the combination of multiple ID documents onto one card.

References

• General Services Administration (US government agency)
• National ID (Qatar)
• TWIC Phase III (US)
• Border control (refugee card) (South Africa)
• Multi-application ID card (Houses of Parliament, The Netherlands)
• National ID (Macau SAR, China)
• Automated border control for Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (The Netherlands)
• Multi-application smart ID card for Ministry of Defence (The Netherlands)
• Electronic ID card for NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (Belgium)
• Automated border control with biometrics for Immigration Department (Hong Kong)
• Asylum seeker ID card for Immigration & Naturalisation Service, Ministry of Justice (The Netherlands)