AuthenTec, one of the world’s leading provider of fingerprint sensors and solutions, has announced the winners of its Big Ideas contest from among hundreds of ideas for applications that take advantage of AuthenTec’s award-winning fingerprint sensors.
     The 25 winning ideas were selected by a panel of technology enthusiasts, and are now posted on the contest Web site at www.25Mandcounting.com. The Big Ideas contest was launched on November 14 following the shipment of AuthenTec’s 25 millionth fingerprint sensor.
     The Big Ideas Grand Prize, a new AuthenTec-enabled laptop PC, will be awarded to Edwin Martin of England for his suggestion that an AuthenTec sensor could be built into a lockable diary that can only be opened by its owner.
     According to Martin’s daughter Katie, she and all of her friends would want one for Christmas. The 24 runners-up in the contest will receive a $25 Visa gift card for their winning submissions, which included: a fingerprint-enabled portable pill dispenser, fingerprint-enabled children’s safety locks, fingerprint-secured safe deposit boxes for banks, pharmaceutical cabinets protected by fingerprint sensors in healthcare facilities, power tools made more secure via fingerprint sensor, a fingerprint-secured mechanic’s tool box and tamperproof thermostats.
     Additional winning submissions----as well as a few humorous entries----can be found on the contest official web site.
     Because of the low cost and small size of AuthenTec’s sensors, many of the contest ideas for fingerprint sensor uses are already being implemented today----from biometric door locks to uses in PCs, cell phones, time & attendance systems, and a host of other consumer, business and government applications.
     “It was truly amazing how many new, innovative and interesting ideas we received from all over the world. We have always spoken about the exciting opportunities for our products in PCs, cell phones, access control systems and cars, but what really came out in the contest submissions is just how ubiquitous our products can one day be” said AuthenTec Chairman & CEO Scott Moody. “Given the volume of the entries we received----all leveraging our Power of Touch features such as security, navigation, personalization and even fun----it was a challenge for our panel of judges to narrow the list of Big Ideas to just 25. We’d really like thank all who provided entries to the contest, and we look forward to building on our industry leadership with the shipment of our next 25 million sensors.”
     AuthenTec is also donating a new fingerprint-enabled laptop PC, $25 for every honorable mention (24 winners), and sports equipment to the Sonrise Orphanage and School in Rwanda.
     Sonrise provides food, clothing, housing and education to the neediest of Rwanda’s orphans.
     Additional information can be found at http://www.mustardseedproject.org.
     AuthenTec has shipped over 15 million sensors in just the past 16 months, compared to the prior 10 million sensors shipped since the company’s founding in 1998.
     AuthenTec’s fingerprint sensors, based on the company’s patented TruePrint® technology which reads below the surface of the skin to the live layer where the true fingerprint resides.
     The sensors bring Power of Touch features including security, convenience, personalization and navigation to over 17 million PCs and more than 7 million cell phones worldwide. AuthenTec created the first fingerprint technology capable of being used by virtually anyone, anywhere.
     Nine years later, AuthenTec’s TruePrint enabled fingerprint sensors are now providing for a new generation of electronic devices and applications that leverage the Power of Touch for the added benefits of security, convenience, navigation, and unique personalization features.
     More than 220 models of PCs and mobile devices from the world’s foremost brands feature AuthenTec sensors.
     With 25 million sensors in use worldwide, AuthenTec is the world leader in providing fingerprint authentication sensors and solutions to the high-volume PC, wireless device, and access control markets.
     AuthenTec’s award-winning sensors take full advantage of The Power of Touch by utilizing the company’s patented TruePrint technology to deliver the most convenient, reliable and cost-effective means available for enabling touch-powered features that extend beyond user authentication.
     The company’s customers include: Acer, ASUSTeK, Fujitsu, HP, Hitachi, HTC, Lenovo, LG Electronics, Samsung, and Toshiba, among others.

NEC unveils advanced, hardware-based laptop security platform

     NEC Computers, a subsidiary of NEC Corp., has unveiled new secure laptops with built-in hardware security enabling strong authentication and encryption designed to prevent unauthorised access to laptop information in the event the system or hard drive is lost or stolen.
     The NEC laptops, Versa M370, P570 and S970, combine an advanced, hardware-based security chip----the TPM (Trusted Platform Module), an encrypting disk drive and client management software. These features enable organisations to deploy and manage secure laptops easily and meet data privacy regulations.
     “With so many high-profile data breaches making headlines, securing sensitive information at the source—the laptop itself—is fast becoming a top priority for most organisations,” said Olivier Chevance, Client Products Marketing Manager, NEC Computers. “ That’s why NEC Computers is providing its customers with the most advanced security and management available today within its Versa line of laptops.”
     The new data security offering combines the Seagate Technology Momentus FDE.2 (Full Disc Encryption) hard drive with DriveTrust technology and Wave’s EMBASSY software into an easy-to-use and scalable solution that enables organisations to provide comprehensive data protection and automated compliance auditing for lost, stolen or recycled laptops.
     DriveTrust is a security platform that combines strong, fully automated hardware-based security with a programming foundation to make it easy to add software security applications and multi-factor authentication including biometrics and smart cards. Momentus 5400 FDE.2 is a 2.5-inch, 5400-rpm hard drive with native government-grade AES encryption. The NEC/Seagate/Wave offering provides a number of advantages over software-based encryption. The solution is easier to deploy and use, delivers stronger pre-boot security and provides always-on encryption with no impact to system performance. It also simplifiesremote deployment, security policy enforcement, and compliance auditing of laptop computers.
     “Theft of intellectual property, customer information and other precious content stored on laptops can cost organizations dearly in legal remedies, customer retention and reputation management,” said Marc Jourlait, vice president of global marketing at Seagate. “Seagate’s Momentus 5400 FDE.2 hard drive with the Wave Systems management software enables NEC to deliver notebooks with the strongest, easiest to deploy security available so NEC customers can steer clear of these costly setbacks.” Also installed on each of the Versa line of laptops is a Trusted Platform Module, which acts as a storage vault for user credentials and offers various advanced security functions, including multi-factor authentication, data protection and ID/password management. An OEM version of Wave’s EMBASSY Trust Suite software comes bundled on the Versa TPMs, making it possible for users to manage both their Trusted Drives and TPMs with the same suite of client-side software, assuring compatibility, simplified maintenance and support.
     “Companies throughout Europe face increasing pressure to safeguard their information assets,” said Brian Berger, executive vice president of marketing and sales for Wave Systems. “NEC is demonstrating a commitment to helping companies support and manage the strongest levels of authentication and data protection solutions available today.