Intercede MyID system secures NATO Summit with Smart Card-based Identities

(07/12/2006)

Intercede have announced that Intercede's MyID system was used to manage the identities of 8,000 diplomats, conference delegation members, Latvian and NATO supporting units, security personnel and volunteers at the NATO Summit in Riga, 27-29 November, 2006.

The Riga Summit of 2006 attracted key NATO heads of State including George W. Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Riga Summit of 2006 was the first summit involving Latvia as a full member of the NATO Alliance.

This solution was primed by Oberthur Card Systems and delivered to the Ministry of Defence of Latvia in partnership with Intercede and Fargo. Intercede provided a complete system to personalize, issue and verify Oberthur smart card-based identity cards at this major international event.

Each Oberthur smart card was colour-coded according to role and security clearance, printed with a photograph of the card holder, secured with holograms and other security printing features to prevent forgery, and the electronic chip was personalized to enable secure cardholder verification.

A compelling aspect of the solution was the ability to both request batches of smart cards from Oberthur’s centralized card production service and to also securely produce locally personalized cards on Fargo desktop printers. This enabled the bulk production of cards ordered in advance and an on-demand issuance capability for late registrations from the same system.

Key features of the system include:
- The MyID registration workstations were smart card protected to prevent the issuance of cards by unauthorized people
- Bulk data import of card requests into the MyID from other systems
- Immediate face-to-face issuance of emergency replacement cards
- Instant identity card verification at up to 20 NATO Summit buildings and checkpoints using MyID card validation stations. Each verification station was securely connected to the MyID verification server using secure channels over the public internet.

In a press conference held on 29 November 2006, NATO Secretary General, Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, praised the Latvian Government for their flawless organization of the Riga Summit.

“With 26 Heads of State in attendance, conference security was of paramount concern. I am therefore delighted that the Latvian Government chose Intercede and our partners to provide a critical piece of the security infrastructure for this event,” said Richard Parris, Chairman and Chief Executive, Intercede. “Following our recently announced successes in the US Federal market, this demanding project further demonstrates that Intercede’s MyID smart card and identity management system has the flexibility and scalability to meet the most critical government security requirements.”

Related topics:  Access Control   Perimeter Protection   Physical Security   Security market sectors 

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