BILLERICA, Mass. (USA) / BOCHUM (Germany) – September 20, 2005 – Viisage (NASDAQ: VISG), a leading provider of advanced technology identity solutions, today announced the release of contactless smartchip capabilities for its iA-thenticate product line, incorporating RFID (radio frequency identification) capability to authenticate travel credentials across Viisage’s widely deployed product set. The integration of RFID into Viisage’s iA-thenticate smartchip is expected to streamline border crossing processes, simplify the authentication of identity documents, including both old and new passports, and improve identification and security at border crossings.

The Viisage iA-thenticate system is currently deployed at many border crossings, airports and embassies around the world, including such countries as Sweden, Finland, Belgium, Canada and Australia, and at multiple airports in the United Kingdom and the US for the validation of credentials of airport contractors. The combination of the already proven document authentication capabilities with new RFID data capture capabilities is designed to provide border control agents with a higher level of assurance that submitted documents are valid.

“We created the iA-thenticate product to meet the needs of border control agencies and to comply with ePassport requirements, while ensuring the product was compatible for future RFID applications,” stated Ron van Os, Chief Product Officer at Viisage. “As smart card usage expands to meet increasing security and identification requirements, Viisage will continue to apply its industry-leading expertise to securing the identities of individuals and reducing incidences of identity fraud.”

Imbedded RFID or smartchips add considerable storage space for critical data, including biometric information such as digitalized fingerprints and facial images. The Viisage iA-thenticate system facilitates the secure transfer of biometric identity information from the document to the border control systems while at the same time meeting all necessary standards to prevent unauthorized access to data on the smartchip. This combination of iA-thenticate smartchips with identity proofing software, biometric technology and ten years of experience in the production of secure credentials has created a robust, inclusive solution for border management that is scaleable across a wide variety of applications.

Viisage will be demonstrating the capabilities of the iA-thenticate smartchip at the upcoming Biometrics Consortium event being held in Washington, DC from September 19 through September 21, and at the Biometrics 2005 event in London from October 20 through October 21.