Oberthur Lands National ID Card Deal

Oberthur Technologies (OT), the French security tech and smartcard maker, announced yesterday (Nov. 12) it has entered a multi-year contract with Costa Rica to provide secure national ID cards to its citizens.

Oberthur’s Lasink solution, which utilizes state-of-the-art polycarbonate technology, will support laser-engraved identification cards to help prevent forgery, the company confirmed.

This additional level of security will make it easier for parties, such as governmental agencies, police forces, banks and car rental agencies, to authenticate a person’s identification.

“Thanks to this solution, the benefits for the country are twofold: Citizens have increased trust in identity documents and are able to access a full range of services, such as voting, and the government implements a solution which is easy to roll out and control,” Christophe Fontaine, managing director of the citizen access and identity business at OT, said in a press release.

As the methods and technologies used by fraudsters continue to evolve, the Costa Rican government is attempting to stay ahead by modernizing its identity documents. Oberthur confirmed the implementation of its Lasink solution will include a turnkey end-to-end system, from card manufacturing to the actual identification services, as well as an integrated and centralized infrastructure to personalize the cards.

According to Oberthur, each year, thousands of fraudulent IDs are used illegally in Costa Rica. Establishing the Lasink solution may help to combat this growing fraud, as Oberthur explained that the technology is impossible to counterfeit. The patented technology comes equipped on cards that offer a 10-year life span and are impossible to delaminate, Oberthur said.

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