Individual Identifiers or IDs must be absolutely secure and tamper-proof. This can be achieved through state-of-the-art security features which proactively thwart falsification including advanced optical lens and other security features. Combined with national symbiology we can design and implement high-value ID documents suitable to represent national governments.
TRUSTFELLOWS offers comprehensive services in creating secure ID documents as well as support countries and issuing authorities in its creation and implementation. The document security market offers constant improvements in security features. Various attributes driven by multiple concepts are employed to secure ID documents. The overall tamper proofing of a document is achieved by a composite of security features either in print – like the usage of special material, colors or color effects and printing techniques or in electronic security – like smartchips and many more. TRUSTFELLOWS helps clients choose the right balance of security features for a specific document, considering the optimum fraud protection and verification levels, while at the same time synchronizing the document design with the security feature and production specification. Not all features are feasible in production for the same document nor does it have to follow certain design criteria.
Authorities currently issuing new document series are driven mostly by the need to improve functionality and security features, with the objective of being either compliant with new international standards or best practice. In case smartchips are used in ID cards for example, each upgrade goes along with the support of the legacy system and their electronic use. TRUSTFELLOWS asses the upgrade plans and supports the client all the way from the concept, through a seamless transition, to receiving the newly produced documents. This also applies to changes in electronic parts and includes interfacing to existing applications.
Security features are categorised into different levels, based on the verification methodology.
Another motivation of authorities in updating security documents is to achieve autonomy in the vendor-chain by not being bound to one supplier and creating a healthy competition. Since ID documents are issued to an entire population and have long periods of validity (approximately 10 years), change in technology can become a challenge. TRUSTFELLOWS with its long years of project experience and expertise helps the authorities to ease this burden, change vendor dependency and gain control over the technology.
Another factor in the adoption of new technology by authorities is the insourcing of document manufacturing within the country to transfer technology to local state-owned or public-private partnerships. Typically the first national Passport and IDs were issued mostly manufactured as secure paper booklets in national security printers inside the country. Following the advance of ICT, the digital evolution commenced with the addition of electronic chips in travel and banking documents as well as changes in the manufacturing techniques adopting the use of plastics or other polymer substrates. In many cases in this transition, the manufacturing of such documents has been outsourced to a number of private companies. Nowadays such production techniques have become relatively more accessible for authorities and with the ongoing standardisation of electronic chips and materials, many national printers have enhanced their production portfolio to insource their secure document production. This has given governments full control on the design and manufacturing chain thereby enhancing the national security.
TRUSTFELLOWS offers support to the insourcing of secure document manufacturing and all the related processes.
The factory processes demanded in security production are summarized in three main groups. Each group is a closed production process. In the first step, the front and back sheets are printed with a unique design which include a set of security features, the use of special colours or security inks.In the card body manufacturing process the sheets are laminated to a raw card body. Finally in the chip process, the dual interface chip is embedded into the card and tested for personalisation-readiness.In case of driver’s license and vehicle license the chip process in not performed, as the cards do not contain a chip.In case of the banking cards, the chip process is performed depending on the card type with either a contact-only chip or a dual interface chip.
The manufacturing process for secure document involves different disciplines which have to be aligned in a factory manufacturing process. In addition to the consultation for secure document manufacturing, TRUSTFELLOWS offers infrastructure design and supervision services to create secure facilities, migrate to or upgrade existing facilities. Our comprehensive services covers the entire span, starting with conceptual planning, detailed concepts cost and production planning, all the way to secure building engineering and the following implementation required for such projects. During the nominal operation, our project management extends even to the factory ramp-up operation support and optimization.
TRUSTFELLOWS has a large technology and partner network which enables us to cover the entire technology span with experienced professionals.