Bundesdruckerei Exhibits Employee ID Card for Tomorrow at CeBIT

Bundesdruckerei presents Go ID! at CeBIT 2015, an employee ID card for tomorrow: a smart, battery-free ID document with a fingerprint sensor and display. Sensitive biometric data is captured, stored and verified on a chip only.

“We are presenting a smart ID document featuring a fingerprint sensor and display,” said Ulrich Hamann, CEO of Bundesdruckerei GmbH. The sensitive biometric data never leaves the document. It is captured, safely stored and verified on a chip only. All the holder of the ID card has to do is to place his finger on the integrated sensor for doubt-free verification.

“The fingerprint is checked in the document itself. This socalled “verification on document” offers a high degree of data protection and ensures the user’s informational self-determination at all times,” explained Hamann. No personal biometric data is sent to a background system, but is stored exclusively on the document. This technology, which combines possession of the ID card and additional biometric detection of the fingerprint, offers outstanding security and user friendliness. “Go ID! is very easy to use, it is fast and offers a high degree of security,” says Mr Hamann.

Status messages and information are clearly shown on an integrated display so that the holder always knows which step is currently running and what he has to do next. Go ID! also runs without a battery. The power needed is taken from the electromagnetic field that is generated by the reading device antenna.
Bundesdruckerei’s developers have spent several years working on this ID document.

The biggest challenge which they had to face was how to integrate the complex technology into such a tiny space: the biometric sensor supplies fingerprint data; the integrated highperformance processor must store the information securely, process the images and extract and compare the data from so-called minutiae of the fingerprint. The document must also be robust enough for daily use.

Go ID! is very similar to a traditional credit card and is only slightly thicker (2.5mm). It complies with the new ISO/IEC 18328 ICC-Managed Devices standard for a card type with a comprehensive chipset. This standard has been developed and will be issued soon. Bundesdruckerei was involved in the specification of the standard.

The level of security can be adapted quickly and as needed by using ID documents with or without biometric components. While it may be sufficient for an employee to simply hold the ID card before a reader in order to enter the employees’ car park, an employee wishing to enter the server room can be required to additionally authenticate his identity with his fingerprint. Go ID! features other electronic functions, such as secure login processes, data or e-mail encryption, electronic signature as well as release and payment processes.