VISG Viisage Technology (MM)

Viisage (Nasdaq: VISG), a leading provider of advanced technology identity solutions, today unveiled ID-Guard(R), an image scanner that automatically authenticates identity documents such as drivers' licenses and ID cards. The innovative ID-Guard(R) product takes seconds to determine the authenticity of an identity document and helps reduce identity fraud in the banking, law enforcement and driver's license markets. Its small size and low total cost of ownership also make it ideal for service-counter and in-vehicle mobile environments. "Viisage is the only company offering a cost-effective document authenticator and this new solution further extends our lead in the identity solutions market," commented Bernard Bailey, President and CEO of Viisage. "In addition to saving time and money with ID Guard, our customers also can quickly authenticate identity documents -- essential requirements in addressing growing concerns over possible identity theft and fraud." Identity fraud is one of the fastest growing crimes in the United States, costing the business community over $1 billion in losses according to a study by Gartner Group(1). With identity fraud cases on the rise, ID-Guard is a timely solution for markets dealing with criminals using fake drivers' licenses as tools to open fraudulent accounts or gain access to privileged information. ID-Guard is not only a new tool for investigators, but we also believe it will be a powerful deterrent to identity fraud. In addition, the low cost of ownership model ensures that distribution throughout an organization is an affordable endeavor. "Viisage's ID-Guard product is unmatched in its capabilities to perform full document authentication and is a much needed tool for law enforcement, motor vehicle agencies and financial institutions in their fight against identity fraud," said Jim Ebzery, Senior Vice President of Customer Solutions at Viisage. "This product will greatly assist our ability to help all organizations successfully thwart the identity theft concerns that they are faced with today." The USA PATRIOT Act and the REAL ID Act both require organizations to now focus on the people to whom they are issuing secure identity credentials and whom they are authorizing to access privileges such as new bank accounts. ID-Guard meets the critical needs of these organizations to assess the authenticity of identity documents and record their efforts to check these documents. ID-Guard is the newest development within the broad range of Viisage products that utilize a variety of end-to-end identity solutions including biometrics, secure credential issuance and identity information software, based on the layered applications approach to identity solutions. This solution builds on Viisage's proven track record of success for document authentication product lines that have an installed base of thousands of units that are helping to secure border crossings around the world. ID Guard enables: -- Automated data capture and authentication of CR80/ID1 size documents through images, demographic information and searching for hidden security features. -- Detailed images - designed using several light sources - to perform multiple security checks which have been predefined for each ID document. -- Use of an image scanner, focusing on widely used ID1/CR80 sized documents, to create a unit that is a fraction of the size and weight of previous offerings. -- Verification of the machine readable zone (MRZ) for ICAO ID1 size documents, by using the built-in bar-code and magnetic stripe reading capability, with B900 ink presence confirmation and user applications population with information captured from the document. ID-Guard also is available with optical character recognition (OCR) functionality, enabling the capture and comparison of printed text to machine readable information. Viisage executives will be demonstrating the capabilities of ID Guard at the BAI Retail Delivery Conference in Orlando, Florida on November 15 - 18 and at the Cartes 2005 Exhibition and Conference from November 15 - 17 in Paris, France. (1) Study conducted by Harris Interactive and Gartner in 2003. About Viisage Viisage (NASDAQ: VISG) delivers advanced technology identity solutions for governments, law enforcement agencies and businesses concerned with enhancing security, reducing identity theft, and protecting personal privacy. Viisage solutions include secure credentials such as passports and drivers' licenses, biometric technologies for uniquely linking individuals to those credentials, and credential authentication technologies to ensure the documents are valid before individuals are allowed to cross borders, gain access to finances, or granted other privileges. With over 3,000 installations worldwide, Viisage's identity solutions stand out as a result of the Company's industry-leading technology and unique understanding of customer needs. Viisage's product suite includes FaceTOOLS(R) SDK, Viisage PROOF(TM), FaceEXPLORER(R), Viisage iA-thenticate(R), BorderGuard(R), IdentityTOOLS(TM), IdentityEXPLORER(TM), FacePASS(TM) and FaceFINDER(R). This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this document and those made from time to time by Viisage through its senior management are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to the future events or financial performance discussed in this release, based on management's beliefs and assumptions and information currently available. When used, the words "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "project", "should", "expect", "plan", "assume" and similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements concerning future plans or results are necessarily only estimates and actual results could differ materially from expectations. Certain factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, among other things, the size and timing of contract awards, performance on contracts, availability and cost of key components, unanticipated results from audits of the financial results of the Company and acquired companies, changing interpretations of generally accepted accounting principles, outcomes of government reviews, developments with respect to litigation to which we are a party, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, dependence on large contracts and a limited number of customers, lengthy sales and implementation cycles, market acceptance of new or enhanced products and services, proprietary technology and changing competitive conditions, system performance, management of growth, dependence on key personnel, ability to obtain project financing, general economic and political conditions and other factors affecting spending by customers, the unpredictable nature of working with government agencies and other risks, uncertainties and factors including those described from time to time in Viisage's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation, Viisage's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004 and its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Viisage expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.