Gemalto to provide AFIS for Canadian Department of National Defense

Gemalto has been tapped by the Canadian government to provide its Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) for biometric criminal and civil identity checks. The Canadian Department of National Defense (DND) will manage and operate the central digital repository for the joint initiative of the Government of Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to digitize biometric records as part of a public safety initiative.

The system will be used to store, collect, process, enroll, and verify biometrics for hiring, security clearances, and policing, according to the announcement. Existing LiveScan booking stations across the country will feed the DND’s AFIS, with data then submitted to the RCMP’s AFIS, which Gemalto also provides. The agreement includes a disaster recovery site provided by Gemalto, and the systems could support facial recognition, DNA, and other biometric modalities in the future.

“Thales has a long and successful history delivering mission critical solutions to Canada’s Armed Forces. After 19 years of working with Canadian local and national law enforcement agencies to provide biometric security services and solutions, we are proud to deliver this important security capability to the Department of National Defence,” says Thales Vice President Government Programs Rob Cimperman. “The addition of an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) and Disaster Recovery (DR) site demonstrates Canada’s commitment to protecting its citizens and keeping Canada safe.”

Gemalto is becoming Thales Digital Identity and Security as the companies’ merger is finalized.

Article Topics

AFIS  |  background checks  |  biometrics  |  Canada  |  fingerprints  |  Gemalto  |  Thales