Thales high tech to offer one of the world’s most secure e-passports

Even though the COVID-19 health crisis has been severely disrupting the global travel industry, in the past few months the DGM Consortium has continued its close collaboration with MOFA. Global teams were working remotely to deliver the project, supporting the Thai Government’s ‘Thailand 4.0’ vision to develop an innovative, digital economy.

Designed to counter new types of forgeries, Thales Secure Surface provides optical elements with light reflective and animation effects revealed by tilting a document in different angles. This visible security feature allows fast and efficient verification by border authorities. An additional perceptible feature is the tactile signature of the citizen embossed on the data page. Biometric data is securely embedded into the passport chip using Thales’ secure embedded software. This software provides strong security for identification and protection of citizens’ privacy.

The technological features of the passport ensures secure and fast border crossing, while complying with all relevant data protection laws in Thailand and is fully compliant to the highest security standards recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). Since the project’s inception, Thales has trained 250 local experts in its passport issuance technologies. Over the next seven years, Thales will be operating know-how transfer and upskilling more than 500 Thai nationals in its technologies, thus significantly contributing to the local economy.

Thales has been a dedicated partner to Thailand for almost 50 years in industry sectors ranging from defence to air traffic management and ground transportation. Aligning with this vision Thales will henceforth be providing its digital identity and biometrics expertise to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, making the Group their trusted partner as they deliver a highlysecure and modern passport for their citizens.

(This content is surmised from a press release)