Contacts: Daniela Karthaus Hitachi Europe Ltd. +44-7920 205 631 Daniela.karthaus@hitachi-eu.com Hitachi and GenKey announce collaboration Paris, France, November 16, 2011 – Hitachi Europe Ltd. today announced that it is entering an initial phase of collaboration with GenKey, a leading provider of ISO 24745 compliant Privacy Enhancing Technology (PET).
In Hitachi’s system the finger is scanned to create what is described as a biometric template. The system works by transmission of near infra-red light into the finger from LEDs inside the scanner. Light penetrates the finger and is absorbed by the haemoglobin within the finger veins, creating an image for capture by CCD camera. The image is processed to create a finger vein pattern that is digitised, compressed and stored as template data.
The benefits of Hitachi’s system, which is virtually error free, include: the finger vein pattern inside the finger cannot be acquired easily without consent; processing time is very fast (around 0.5 seconds to acquire, process and validate) and there is no link to criminality as in the case of finger-print systems.
GenKey is the leading provider of ISO 24745 compliant PET that eliminates privacy and security concerns in biometric deployments. The BioHASH® solution stores and matches fingerprint information using an irreversible binary hash code. The same hash technology is routinely used in securing PIN codes in financial transactions and passwords in IT security.
Ravi Ahluwalia, Deputy General Manager, Information Systems Group, at Hitachi Europe Ltd. said: “Working together will provide a great benefit for both Hitachi and GenKey, as our technologies perfectly complement each other to expand our ability to support various needs for PET technologies. Vein ID has gone from strength to strength in Japan and Europe over the last years and this collaboration will further enhance market penetration while ensuring the highest level of data security for end-users.” "I am very excited about this collaboration as this brings together key elements in biometrics" says Michiel van der Veen, CEO of GenKey, "Hitachi's traceless technology and GenKey's secure and private storage with extremely fast matching capabilities creates a solution that will be the standard in biometric deployments." Editor’s notes: About Finger Vein Authentication Technology Feature and mechanism of finger vein authentication system: The finger vein pattern recognition technology uses the vein pattern of the finger as the key biometric feature.
The finger vein pattern is impossible to counterfeit because the vein is inside the body.
With some of the existing biometric systems, it is possible to acquire data without the knowledge of the individual [e.g. finger-print, facial recognition, iris-scan etc.] It is not possible to acquire the finger vein biometric feature without knowing consent of the individual, which means that from a societal aspect, finger vein pattern recognition is safe and secure for the individual.
In operation, the process of data collection is based on a contact-less principle. Light penetrates through the finger using a light-transmission technique to allow the detection of the vein pattern. The vein pattern is image-processed using a special algorithm resulting in digital data that can be stored in a relevant data repository. The reading device is compact and can be applied in a variety of ways including for car entry, personal authentication, PC login, door access systems and validation for ATM machines.
For more information about the technology, please visit www.hitachi-eu.com/veinid ABOUT HITACHI, LTD. Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2010 (ended March 31, 2011) consolidated revenues totalled 9,315 billion yen ($112.2 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com .
ABOUT HITACHI EUROPE LTD. Hitachi Europe Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., Japan.
Headquartered in Maidenhead, UK, it has operations in 11 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and employs approximately 460 people.
Hitachi Europe comprises of nine business areas: rail systems; power and industrial systems; information systems; digital media and consumer products; display products;
industrial components and equipment; air conditioning and refrigeration systems;
manufacturing systems; and procurement and sourcing. Hitachi Europe also has three Research and Development laboratories and a design centre. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.hitachi.eu .
ABOUT GENKEY GenKey is the leading provider of ISO 24745 compliant PET (Privacy Enhancing Technology) that eliminates privacy and security concerns in biometric deployments.
The BioHASH® solution stores and matches fingerprint information using an irreversible binary hash code. The same hash technology is routinely used in securing PIN codes in financial transactions and passwords in IT security.
