Digimarc driver license security helps Iowa deter counterfeiting, terrorism and fraud
05 April, 2006
category: Government, Transit
The Iowa Department of Transportation recently completed deployment of a Digimarc system that produces driver licenses with an embedded digital watermark to increase security. The new system also allows for instant issuance. The Real ID Act-compliant system includes upgrades in hardware, software, camera equipment, and a modular-component architecture supporting 123 Iowa issuing locations.
New Secure Driver License System Positions Iowa to Tackle REAL ID Compliance
Beaverton, Ore.–Digimarc Corporation has announced that the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), a long-time Digimarc customer, has successfully completed implementation of a new and highly secure digital driver license system designed to deter counterfeiting and identity theft, curb underage drinking and enhance Homeland Security.
“Iowa’s new digital driver license system is built on a number of new technologies, features and processes that will help us meet our goals of improving traffic safety and curtailing criminal activity related to the use of fraudulent identification,” said Shirley Andre, Director of the Iowa DOT’s Motor Vehicle Division. “We are pleased to have worked closely with Digimarc to implement this advanced system in a timely manner and begin preparing Iowa for addressing REAL ID compliance.”
As part of the new system, Iowa recently introduced a newly designed digital driver license loaded with advanced innovations in ID security, including Digimarc IDMarc and Digimarc ExianDual card architecture for instant issuance environments.
IDMarc is a digital watermarking-based, machine-readable security feature embedded and authenticated on identity documents. IDMarc transforms passive elements of a document into a covert interlocking security feature. Nearly 40% of U.S. driver licenses produced in 2006 are expected to be protected with IDMarc digital watermarks.
ExianDual is Digimarc’s instant issuance card offering designed specifically to increase driver license security and durability for States that require instant issuance. Additionally, Iowa’s ExianDual card material is embedded with inventory control numbers for enhanced security and card accountability from manufacture to issuance.
“With the adoption of the industry’s key technological innovations in card security for over-the-counter issuance environments and machine-readable, digital watermark security for cross-jurisdictional driver license authentication, Iowa is demonstrating its leadership in secure driver license issuance,” said Robert Eckel, president, government programs, Digimarc Corporation. “We look forward to continuing our close partnership with the Iowa DOT as they look ahead to the needs of the REAL ID Act.”
Iowa’s new system includes upgrades in hardware, software, camera equipment, and a modular-component architecture supporting 123 issuing locations around the State. The system also enables the DOT’s new “photo anywhere” workflow scheduled for rollout this spring – a smart process that gives issuers the flexibility to capture a person’s portrait anytime during the application process and use that portrait to verify identity before a valid driver license is issued. Identity verification is an important component of REAL ID compliance.
About Digimarc
Digimarc Corporation, based in Beaverton, Oregon, is a leading supplier of secure identity and media management solutions. Digimarc provides products and services that enable the production of more than 60 million personal-identification documents, including two-thirds of U.S. driver licenses and IDs for more than 20 countries. Digimarc’s digital watermarking technology provides a persistent digital identity for various media content and is used to enhance the security of financial documents, identity documents and digital images, and support other media rights-management applications.
