The U.S. Department of State saves 7.5 million dollars every year on password administration by letting employees log on to their computers with fingerprints instead of passwords. 45,000 employees at American embassies and consulates around the world  use secure smart cards with fingerprint.

The challenge
The government’s decision to implement computer log on with fingerprints was based on high costs for password administration, and a presidential directive from 2004 stating that all federal agencies are required to implement Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) with biometrics.

PKI is a common name for sets of security systems that allows organizations or companies to encrypt and secure network data, making it possible to digitally sign or authorize document and send encrypted mails.

How it works
The employees log on to computers by inserting personal cards with previously enrolled fingerprint information into a fingerprint reader, and then placing their finger on the reader. By doing this, the employees can more easily logon to several network applications, eliminating the need for passwords and the risk of the passwords being lost, forgotten or stolen. The network access rights and PKI are physically bound to a specific individual.

With Precise Match-on-Card™ the matching of the fingerprint takes place securely in the card’s chip, and the fingerprint template can never be extracted from the card.

Result
Together with the partner Safenet (at the time Datakey), the Precise Biometrics’ fingerprint solution was integrated with the department’s already existing PKI providing secure network access to employees positioned around the world.

In addition, return-on-investment calculations from the Department of State show that approximately 30 percent of all desktop help concerns password issues. By replacing passwords with fingerprints and smart cards, the department saves 7.5 million dollars every year on reduced password administration and desktop help.

Future
There are initiatives to expand the system for shared agency use of physical access, desktop and network resources using the PIV (Personal identity Verification) model directed by the president under HSPD-12.

» Case study (PDF)