A recent initiative undertaken by the Government of Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to advance public safety measures has led to the digitalization of biometric records across the country which will allow for faster and more accurate criminal and civil identity checks. Canada’s DND is the latest to modernize their capabilities.

Gemalto’s AFIS will provide a central, digital repository which will then be managed and operated by DND. In addition to the storage itself, the system will collect, process, enroll and verify this biometric data for enrollment/hiring, security clearances and policing.

Information collected from existing booking stations, known as LiveScans, across the country will feed into the DND’s AFIS and be submitted to the RCMP central AFIS, also provided by Gemalto. Both systems may support facial recognition, DNA, and other forms of biometric identification in the future. In addition, Gemalto will be installing a Disaster Recovery (DR) site to protect the DND from losing valuable data.

“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,” said Rob Cimperman, Vice President Government Programs at Thales. “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.”

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Gemalto’s solutions are at the heart of modern life, from payment to enterprise security and the internet of things. Gemalto’s technologies and services authenticate people, transactions and objects, encrypt data and create value for software – enabling businesses and governments to deliver secure digital services for billions of individuals and things.

About Thales

The people we all rely on to make the world go round – they rely on Thales. Our customers come to us with big ambitions: to make life better, to keep us safer. Combining a unique diversity of expertise, talents and cultures, our architects design and deliver extraordinary high technology solutions. Solutions that make tomorrow possible, today. From the bottom of the oceans to the depth of space and cyberspace, we help our customers think smarter and act faster - mastering ever greater complexity and every decisive moment along the way. With 80,000 employees in 68 countries, Thales reported sales of €19 billion in 2018.

About Thales Canada

A Canadian leader in research and technology, Thales Canada combines over 50 years of experience with the talent of more than 2,000 skilled people located coast-to-coast. With revenues of over $850 million, Thales Canada offers leading capabilities in the urban rail, civil aviation, defence, digital identity and security sectors, meeting the most complex needs and requirements of its customers across all operating environments.