Gemalto Selected for the National Identity Project of Portugal

Amsterdam (ots/PRNewswire) -

- This ID Program Will Involve More Than 2 Million Cards per Year
After the Roll-Out, and is the First ID Project in Europe Based on
Identification Authentication Signature (IAS) Specifications

Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), a world leader in digital
security, today announces that it has been selected by Imprensa
Nacional-Casa da Moeda (INCM), the Portuguese Mint and National
Printing Office, to provide the solution for the national e-ID card
including the secure operating system, the personalization system and
applications, the middleware and associated helpdesk services. A
first pilot phase is starting today in the Acores region, and in
mid-run, all Portuguese citizens should be able to use these high-end
cards including a built-in biometrics feature (fingerprint) as their
national ID document.

This smart card, the size of the credit card, will be the official
ID document for Portuguese citizens and incorporates extended
printing security features. It will also enable citizens to
communicate with their government administrations in a simple, fast
and more secure manner. This new called "Citizen Card" will include
several id-numbers such as civil identification, taxpayer, social
security and health and will also replace, in the future, the elector
card. A variety of e-government services will be available through
the electronic identification provided by the new Citizen Card. The
cardholder has a secret pin code to identify and authenticate
himself/herself, and the card generates a, legally-binding digital
signature for secure declarations and administrative procedures. This
application will provide the required cryptographic means for secure
access to e-government services portal and digital signature for
electronic exchanges. Another application, which access is
electronically restricted to forensic and police authorities, will
perform the identity verification through fingerprint check.

"The digital security technology requested to implement our e-ID
program is crucial to the e-government global approach towards
citizens: it is not only about managing credentials, it is about
facilitating and increasing the quality of the relations between
citizens and public services on a national level, moving them to next
steps" says Jose I. Toscano, executive director and member of the
Board at INCM. "Recent programs such as the electronic passport
compliant with international standards, or the tachograph
identification system for professional truck drivers and road
transportation control show the INCM commitment to supply the public
administration of Portugal with the most advanced documents for the
functioning of the State. With such important nation-wide programs,
we are very happy to produce state-of-art secure documents and
consistently partner with a world digital security leader, Gemalto."
He adds.

Jacques Seneca, president of Europe at Gemalto, comments: "Gemalto
is very proud to contribute to the Portuguese ID program, the first
European ID project based on IAS specifications. Portuguese citizens
will enjoy the IAS benefits and Portugal sets the pace for national
ID cards interoperability throughout Europe."

About Gemalto

Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is a leader in digital
security with pro forma 2006 annual revenues of EUR1.7 billion,
operations in about 100 countries and over 10,000 employees including
1,500 R&D engineers.

In a world where the digital revolution is increasingly
transforming our lives, Gemalto's solutions are designed to make
personal digital interactions more convenient, secure and enjoyable.

Gemalto provides end-to-end digital security solutions, from the
development of software applications through design and production of
secure personal devices such as smart cards, SIMs, e-passports, and
tokens to the management of deployment services for its customers.

More than a billion people worldwide use the company's
products and services for telecommunications, financial services,
e-government, identity management, multimedia content, digital rights
management, IT security, mass transit and many other applications.

As the use of Gemalto's software and secure devices increases with
the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world,
the company is poised to thrive over the coming years.

Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto
and Gemplus.

For more information please visit www.gemalto.com

About INCM

Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda (INCM), the Portuguese Official
Printing Office and Mint, is a limited company of public founds. The
enterprise is in charge of producing goods and services essential to
the functioning of the Portuguese State, such as minting metal coin
and issuing official publications, including namely the Government's
journal "Diario da Republica".

The production of security documents of new generation such as the
Electronic Passport, Digital Tachograph Card and the future Citizen
Card is a great challenge to INCM. The evolution that the new
technologies underwent turned this activity into a strategic area for
the company's development, enabling INCM to supply the Public
Administration with the most advanced and secure identity documents,
at the same time as the company is going deeper into the market so as
to be able to respond to the needs of a wide range of companies and
organizations.

The authentication of precious metal artifacts and the publishing
of essential works of the Portuguese and universal culture complete
the range of activities that define the business profile of INCM.

For more information please visit www.incm.pt

Gemalto
Media
Emmanuelle Saby
T: +33-1-55-01-57-27
M: +33-6-09-10-76-10
Emmanuelle.saby@gemalto.com
Investor Relations
Stephane Bisseuil
T: +33-1-55-01-50-97
M: +33-6-86-08-64-13
Stephane.bisseuil@gemalto.com
TBWA�porate
Emlyn Korengold
T: +33-1-49-09-66-51
M: +33-6-08-21-93-74
emlyn.korengold@tbwa-corporate.com

ots Originaltext: Gemalto
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Gemalto: Media: Emmanuelle Saby, T: +33-1-55-01-57-27, M:
+33-6-09-10-76-10, Emmanuelle.saby@gemalto.com. Investor Relations:
Stephane Bisseuil, T: +33-1-55-01-50-97, M: +33-6-86-08-64-13,
Stephane.bisseuil@gemalto.com. TBWA�porate: Emlyn Korengold, T:
+33-1-49-09-66-51, M: +33-6-08-21-93-74,
emlyn.korengold@tbwa-corporate.com