Hong Kong police smarten up personnel and data access

Hong Kong police will deploy Identitive Group's smart card readers to comply with new security policies and protect confidential information on their networks from unauthorized access and abuse. Identive designed and supplied the chipsets for the readers to accommodate contact and contactless smart cards, as well as secure access modules. Identive's local partner, AMCL, will be supplying 12,500 readers that will be delivered by the end of this month.

The police force will use the smart card-based identification credentials to authenticate employees. The readers provide higher security than the use of passwords alone, and can identify and track staff's information access. “The Hong Kong Police Force selected our reader technology because it addresses their requirements for high security and performance, flexibility to work with various operating systems, and rapid availability,” said Manfred Mueller, COO of Identification Products at Identive.

"The ability to upgrade the firmware after deployment also ensures the readers' long-term viability even as technology and IT policies evolve,” Muller continued. “By using Identive's reader technology to authenticate their smart ID cards, Hong Kong's police force now can protect the information on their networks more effectively without compromising convenience.”