Morpho consortium wins new Finland ePassport contract

Morpho (Safran group) has won a call for tenders from the Finnish National Police Board to supply the country's new ePassports, as part of a consortium including Oberthur Technologies. The consortium has been providing Finland with secure ePassports since 2006.

Within the consortium Morpho provides the passport booklet which includes a set of new and improved security features on its polycarbonate data page. The data page also contains an integrated microchip which stores the holder's personal details and biometric data (fingerprints and facial image). Morpho also supplies its ICAO PKI system* and its cutting-edge personalization solution**.
With enhanced physical and electronic security features, Finland's new passport will provide greater protection against identity theft and fraud, and enable fast, secure identification of passport holders.
"Over the years we have built a reliable working relationship with Morpho, an expert ePassport supplier. Morpho was selected based on its solid experience and ability to deliver highly secure, innovative and cost-effective document production and issuance solutions," said Heli Rajaniemi, Senior Officer, Finnish National Police Board.
"As the key provider of secure ID solutions in Finland, we are delighted to have won this new ePassport contract", stated Jean-Paul Jainsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Morpho. "We are committed to developing innovative document security technology to meet the stringent requirements of the ever-evolving ID market."
Finland began issuing its new ePassports at the end of August 2012.

*ICAO PKI system: Manages the digital certificates involved in securing access to data stored in the chip of a travel document.
**Oberthur Technologies' teams carry out the passport personalization using the solution supplied by Morpho.