BIO-key to unveil new mobile biometric identity platform for smartphones

WALL, N.J., July 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BIO-key International, a leader in finger-based biometric identification solutions today announced the company will be unveiling its first ever mobile biometric identification and authentication platform that provides enterprises with the ability to capture and transmit fingerprint biometric data to a secure server for identity and authentication of smartphone, laptop, tablet and desktop users on Wednesday, July 28 , from 6:00 to 9:30PM, in Oracle Corporation's Hospitality Suite at the Burton Group Catalyst Conference held at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront Hotel and Convention Center, San Diego, CA.

"We live in a world with 24 by 7 access to information from mobile devices. Application providers and enterprise IT professionals have been struggling with how they can quickly, conveniently and accurately establish the identity of remote users looking to access their sites and applications," said Mike DePasquale, CEO of BIO-key International. "With the anticipated ubiquity of fingerprint enabled smartphones such as the LG eXpo, the first such smartphone introduced in the US market, enterprise application providers now have a more secure and convenient alternative to passwords for their remote users to establish their identity,"

BIO-key partners including Oracle, IBM, Computer Associates and Evidian, who have added BIO-key's biometric identity solution into their offerings, can now provide their enterprise customers a fast, secure and convenient way to assure their users' identities to access enterprise applications through smartphones.

BIO-key is a Gold level member of the Oracle Partner Network. "The fact that BIO-key's software is interoperable with numerous fingerprint readers is an important feature for Oracle because it enables enterprises to more easily establish identity remotely on a variety of devices - from laptops to tablets to cell phones," said Darren Calman, Director of Product Management, Oracle Identity & Access Management. "Software that can enroll, identify and verify mobile users is critical to our customers with today's work force."

According to IDC's May 2010 Worldwide Mobile Phone Quarterly Tracker report, growth in the smartphone market more than doubled that of the overall mobile phone market in the first quarter this year, stating vendors shipped a total of 54.7 million units in the first quarter of 2010 (1Q10), up 56.7% from the same quarter the year prior. Furthermore, a March 2010 Nielson report predicted that smartphones will become the standard device by the end of 2011, with the number of smartphones in the U.S. exceeding mobile phones.

"Cell phone manufacturers recognize that passwords and PIN codes are not sufficient to secure a cell phone user's personal data or provide secure access to company networks and servers. Over 10 million mobile phones have now added fingerprint readers from AuthenTec into manufacturers' various models to take advantage of the convenient security, personalization and touch control combined with very low solution implementation cost and we see deployments continuing to grow," said Larry Ciaccia, President of AuthenTec, a leading provider of security, identity management and touch control solutions.

"The BIO-key fingerprint biometric software protects user privacy while providing a convenient and significantly more secure alternative to passwords and tokens for a person remotely accessing an enterprise application. With the simple touch of a finger and without the need for other forms of identification, BIO-key's identification software can quickly search an enterprise database of authorized users to positively establish the identity of a remote user," added Dr. Ronald D. Black, Chairman and CEO, UPEK a leader in enterprise and consumer biometric fingerprint solutions.

"Smartphones provide enterprise users with further flexibility to access applications and information from virtually anywhere and at anytime;" commented Rob Baxter, CEO, Validity, Inc, a leading provider of convenient, secure and reliable fingerprint authentication solutions. "BIO-key's biometric enterprise identification platform ensures quick and secure identification of enterprise users from any device running on any platform without the inconvenience of typing passwords, and giving enterprises the reliability and security to include smartphones as part of their IT solution," he added.

The Burton Group Catalyst Conference, is a five-day, industry-shaping conference that explores cutting-edge ideas, current challenges as well as emerging technologies shaping today's and tomorrow's enterprise. This event is renowned for its attendee-driven agenda, high-profile speakers, in-depth content and fiercely independent point of view. On Wednesday from 6:00 to 9:30 PM, in the Oracle hospitality suite, BIO-key will demonstrate how a user can establish identity on the Oracle Identity Management platform over smartphones and laptops to gain access to data and applications.

Mr. DePasquale concluded, "For years our fingerprint biometric identity solutions have been running in retail, financial, healthcare, education and civil applications using laptops, tablets and desktops equipped with fingerprint readers to authenticate the identity of users. Now, with the proliferation of smartphones, BIO-key has a fast, secure and convenient identity and authentication solution for businesses that need to establish the identity of smartphone users before giving them access to applications and critical information."