XceedID Multi-Technology Card Readers Receive FIPS201 Approval

Golden, CO - October 16, 2006 - XceedID Corporation today announced that three of its industry leading Multi-Technology card reader models have been approved by the U.S. Government under HSPD-12 for FIPS201 compliance as Transparent Readers.

The approval of XceedID readers under the FIPS201 federal specification indicates that XceedID readers have passed compliance testing for compatibility with the new Personal Identity Verification (“PIV II”) credentials mandated for issuance to all federal employees over the next two years. Several card manufacturers have been approved as suppliers of FIPS201 compliant PIV credentials; the physical access control function of these approved cards has been verified with XceedID readers.

FIPS 201 is a Federal Information Processing Standard developed by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to satisfy the requirements of HSPD-12, a Homeland Security Presidential Directive. One of the main objectives of HSPD-12 is to ensure government-wide interoperability for information technology and security through the implementation of a range of federal standards and product requirements. FIPS 201 seeks to improve identification and authentication of Federal employees and contractors for access to Federal facilities and information systems.

The XceedID Mullion reader (XF1100-PIV), Mid-Range reader (XF2100-PIV) and Keypad reader (XF2110-PIV) are now available with FIPS201 compliance. These XceedID products will be listed on the GSA Approved Products List (GSA APL).

In addition to reading approved FIPS201 PIV II credentials, XceedID Multi-Technology readers are also compatible with many standard proximity and leading smart card technologies. The ability to read multiple existing card types and PIV II cards simultaneously is a tremendous benefit to those agencies looking to painlessly transition from older proximity technologies to new, mandated PIV II credentials. A mixed population of old prox credentials and new PIV II credentials is unavoidable during the government’s multi-year upgrade path to FIPS201 compliance. XceedID Multi-Technology readers are a unique and critical component of successful security upgrades in all sectors of the government.

When purchasing FIPS201 compliant XceedID products, customers must order the PIV compliant version of the product by adding “PIV” to the applicable part number (example: XF2100-PIV).

FIPS 201 Reader Disclaimer

The U.S. Government PIV credentials are complex dual interface credentials involving contact and contactless smart card components, and in some cases a proximity component (antenna coil) or other technologies such as bar code or mag stripe. XceedID PIV readers have been approved by the GSA lab as compliant with FIPS 201 and the appropriate PIV credentials. However, XceedID does not control the quality, tuning or RF performance of the PIV cards and therefore cannot guaranty that every card will read on our readers. The transaction time and the RF performance varies widely from one card type and manufacturer to another and is solely dependent on the card quality and not the reader. Any PIV reader installations intended to be mounted on or near metal surfaces should be tested in the actual install environment to verify operation. XceedID cannot guarantee performance of PIV credentials on readers mounted on or near metal or installations. Every PIV reader is tested at the factory prior to shipping.