Argentina. HID Global announced that the government of Argentina has selected HID Global to upgrade its e-passport, in accordance with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) standards, to a newer generation of technology that will reduce costs, improve security and consolidate the reliability of data reading at border checkpoints.
The Argentine government is transitioning the electronic document from a printed ink antenna to a new copper wire antenna, which is more reliable, as it has a more resistant adhesion to the chip containing the traveler's data, and, therefore, reduces the failure rate. The vast majority of e-passports around the world use copper wire antennas.
The passport, which features more robust security features, also features an electronic cover designed with a radio frequency shield. A thin layer of special material disrupts radio communication with the passport antenna, only when it is closed, preventing it from being read or stolen by people with bad intentions. It greatly decreases the risk of unauthorized access to chip data when passports are not being inspected. In current ICAO standards, the microcontroller chip is the fundamental place where citizens' confidential biometric and biographical data are stored.
"HID Global continues to help countries like Argentina reap the security, efficiency and flexibility benefits offered by the latest generation of e-passports," said Rob Haslam, vice president of global sales for HID Global's citizen identification solutions unit. "Our e-Cover is part of a broader portfolio of HID solutions, systems, software and services we offer to help governments issue and manage citizen IDs for millions of people."
The process of updating the Argentine passport began in June 2017, when the government opened a public tender. Delivery of the new e-Covers began in March 2018. The Argentine government began issuing the enhanced e-passports to citizens in April. By using the new e-Cover solution from HID's citizen identification solutions business unit, the Argentine government is expected to save $2.3 million dollars (approximately 60 million pesos) annually.
"The Argentine government was looking for a high-quality solution for its latest e-passport and wanted to keep up with global market trends," said Eduardo Lerner, president of the Institute of Publications and Statistics (IPESA), the HID partner that helped with the implementation of the new technology in Argentina. "We were able to combine HID's cutting-edge E-Covers TLam with our reliable execution and advice to support Argentina's goal of providing its citizens with one of the safest passports in the world."
