********** Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2001 19:17:19 -0500 From: Robert Sweeney <rsweeney@anet-stl.com> To: declanat_private Subject: V I S I O N I C S Corporation > Newroom > Press Releases I thought you might have something to say about this. Privacy advocates would probably liken a computer which scans the crowds for 'terrorists' to be a step down the road to 'big brother' as we wonder what other groups it would be set to look for. I, of course, am more relaxed. As I see it, the system isn't set up to be an invasion of privacy or unconstitutional search and ceasure if it only looks for people who are wanted for questioning by the Feds or police. That would just mean that a suspected criminal can't hide very well. However, if they database back end amounted to little more than 'racial profiling', that would be a different matter. In that case, they have no *reason* to be looking for those people according to our idea of constitutional rights. I don't really think such a system would have helped prevent the 9-11 attacks, simply because I don't think they used people who would have been in a database of people suspected of being involved in terrorist groups. A computer is only as good as the data it's given to work with, after all. I don't think the terrorists were known beforehand as being suspect, thus they wouldn't be identified by this face scanning technology simply because there was no pre-existing reason for them to be in a database of 'suspicious' individuals. Your mileage may vary... Bob ********* http://ir.shareholder.com/vsnx/ReleaseDetail.cfm?ReleaseID=59253 Visionics Corporation Announces Framework for Protecting Civilization from the Faces of Terror Issues White Paper Analyzing the Role Facial Recognition Technologies Can Play in Improving Airport Security JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY – September 24, 2001 – In an effort to address the heightened security concerns in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on America, Visionics Corporation (Nasdaq:VSNX), the worldwide leader in identification technologies and systems, announced today a comprehensive framework for the use of facial recognition technology in enhancing airport security. The Company has detailed the elements of this framework in a white paper entitled, Protecting Civilization from the Faces of Terror: A Primer on the Role Facial Recognition Technology Can Play in Improving Airport Security. Cognizant of privacy concerns, this document also addresses the need for responsible use guidelines to prevent any misuse of these technologies. "Terror is not faceless. This means that we can act to restore public confidence and safety by creating intelligence-based identification systems, in essence, databases of terrorists' faces and identities, which are used to track the whereabouts of terrorists, through computerized facial recognition, as they travel from country to country. Paramount to building this protective shield, however, is delivering today a scalable platform which can tie into unlimited number of cameras and into a wide network of intelligence databases. Our Biometric Network Platform does exactly that. It incorporates our leading FaceIt® technology, and, by adhering to industry standards for responsible use, can be deployed without posing a threat to our privacy," said Dr. Joseph J. Atick, chairman and CEO of Visionics Corporation. Protecting Civilization from the Faces of Terror identifies five key areas relating to the use of biometric technologies for airport security: Facial Screening and Surveillance: General surveillance of crowds at airports, preventing the issuance of travel documents to known terrorists and detecting tampered and fraudulent travel documents. Automated Biometric-Based Boarding: Modify the boarding process to require an instantaneous terrorist background check on each passenger upon check-in and boarding by searching facial images against intelligence databases of terrorists and their affiliates. Screening of Airport Employees: Require criminal background checks through fingerprint and facial recognition at all airports and for all airport employees. Physical Security: Improve access control systems for entry to tarmac, gates and other secure areas through biometrics. Intelligence Data Mining: Support the development of an infrastructure is capable of gathering, analyzing and linking information regarding terrorists and their accomplices across international, national and agency jurisdictions. A refocus on security with face recognition as part of intelligence gathering and execution is therefore called for. The privacy protection principles endorsed in this document are: (a) public knowledge; (b) maintaining database integrity; © no match – no memory; (d) authorized operation and access; and (d) enforcement and penalty. Protecting Civilization from the Faces of Terror will be made available for download at http://www.visionics.com/newsroom/downloads/whitepapers/counterterrorism.pdf About Visionics Corporation Visionics Corporation (Nasdaq:VSNX) is the worldwide leader in identification technologies and systems. The Company is uniquely positioned with a comprehensive set of biometric identification product offerings: FaceIt®, live scan, IBIS and BNP. The award-winning core FaceIt® technology enables a broad range of products and applications built by partners (OEMs, VARs and system integrators). These include enhanced CCTV systems, identity fraud applications and identity verification systems for physical and network security, travel and banking. The TENPRINTER and FingerPrinter CMS live scan systems are the most widely used by government agencies, law enforcement, airports, banks and other commercial institutions in the US. IBIS is a revolutionary mobile identification system capable of capturing both forensic quality fingerprints and photographs for transmission and wireless transmitting the data to law enforcement and other legacy databases for real-time identification. Finally, the BNP is the only commercially available platform for delivering scalable biometric solutions. It incorporates FaceIt® technology for implementation over large-scale networks and real-time identification. The product offerings are reflective of Visionics' leadership position in the biometric industry and commitment to the innovation of identification technologies. More information on Visionics can be accessed via the Company web site at http://www.visionics.com or by calling Frances Zelazny, Director of Corporate Communications at +1 201-332-9213. This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected on the basis of such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For a more complete description of these and other risk factors which may affect the future performance of Visionics Corporation, see "Risk Factors" in Digital Biometrics' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended September 30, 2000 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended June 30, 2001, Form 8-K dated February 15, 2001 and the related Form 8-K/A, all of which have been filed with the SEC. OR TOP OF PAGE CONTACT: Bob Gallagher, Chief Financial Officer, 952-932-0888 Frances Zelazny, Director of Corporate Communications, 201-332-9213 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. 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