DigitalPersona Announces IBM Partner Relationship; DigitalPersona Provides U.are.U Pro Fingerprint Technology for IBM Secure Commercial Desktop PCs - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Oct 18, 1999

DigitalPersona, developer of the award-winning U.are.U Fingerprint Recognition System, Thursday announced that it will serve as an IBM Partner, providing its U.are.U Pro Fingerprint Recognition technology as a security option for use with IBM's PC 300PL Commercial Desktop Computers.

The DigitalPersona product will be available worldwide through IBM and DigitalPersona Distribution beginning in late Q4-99, according to Fabio Righi, DigitalPersona president and CEO.

The U.are.U Pro fingerprint technology is fully IBM User Verification Manager (UVM) aware and fully UVM compatible. The User Verification Manager, announced by IBM on September 28, 1999, is an application that is used to set up user identity and determine access rights and privileges. The UVM is one of the IBM security solutions for commercial desktop systems.

"IBM and DigitalPersona have been working together throughout the past year to create an advanced, flexible security system based on fingerprint technology for corporate security applications," said Righi. "We are pleased that IBM has selected DigitalPersona as their partner to provide the fingerprint technology they need for their secure systems."

U.are.U Pro includes the award-winning U.are.U Sensor with USB connector, a highly accurate Recognition Engine, and a suite of Privacy Applications. When the user installs the product U.are.U Pro automatically detects whether it is being used on an IBM PC 300PL Commercial Desktop system and provides the choice of a series of options specific to that system. The product runs on Windows 2000, NT 4.0 and Windows 98/95 systems. It ships in late Q4-99 at single-unit pricing under $150.

"U.are.U Pro is designed for the real world based on input from customers," said Righi. "This product fulfills the promise of fingerprint recognition technology for convenient, secure authentication on IBM and other systems."

IBM UVM-Aware U.are.U Pro Applications When U.are.U is installed on any UVM-aware IBM PC300PL system, users will be able to log on, and lock and unlock the system with one touch of a fingerprint to the U.are.U Sensor. They will also be able to use the following security applications:

-- One Touch Profiler: provides the convenience of one-touch form-filling for all applications and Internet sites that require a password, user name and other profile information.

-- U.are.U Private Space 2.0: protects personal information by storing it in a virtual drive on the computer or network. Data in a Private Space is encrypted and decrypted with the touch of a fingerprint.