VISG Viisage Technology (MM)

Viisage (Nasdaq: VISG) today announced that the Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs of Iceland has selected Viisage identity solutions to gather the multi-biometric data required to issue new electronic passports for its citizens. Iceland is one of the first countries to integrate finger and face biometrics into their ePassports, made possible with identity technology from Viisage. The company's technology will be used to gather ICAO/ISO-compliant biometric data (face, fingerprint, and signature) on Iceland citizens applying for electronic passports at all civil registration offices throughout the country. "Iceland is taking a holistic view in adopting biometric technology to manage the identity of its citizens," said Thorsteinn Helgi Steinarsson of Asverk Consulting, consultant to the Ministry of Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs in Iceland. "Our aim is to provide added level of service and security in the whole sphere of identity verification, starting at the enrollment site and with biometric passports. Viisage enrollment systems provide one of the basic foundations on which we build our solutions." Iceland is one of the first countries in Europe to gather live biometric data, instead of paper-based images. This ensures higher quality and consistency of the information to be stored on the passport chip and offers the most accurate level of verification and validation of a personal identity in border crossing scenarios. Viisage will provide all Icelandic civil registration offices with a comprehensive, front-end data registration solution that includes hardware and software. In addition, the Viisage ISO ImageCAM camera sensors are specifically designed for ISO-compliant data capturing and image quality checks. "More and more domestic and international governments and agencies are embracing biometric technologies as a means to better secure and protect the identities of their citizens and to better manage their borders," said Hartmuth von Maltzahn, managing director of EMEA, Viisage. "Viisage technology is behind more than 165 million secure identification credentials worldwide today and we see this number growing exponentially as governments seek improved methods for verifying and validating identities." The new system is expected to go live in Iceland in May 2006. About Viisage Viisage (NASDAQ: VISG) delivers advanced technology identity solutions for governments, law enforcement agencies and businesses concerned with enhancing security, reducing identity theft, and protecting personal privacy. Viisage solutions include secure credentials such as passports and drivers' licenses, biometric technologies for uniquely linking individuals to those credentials, and credential authentication technologies to ensure the documents are valid before individuals are allowed to cross borders, gain access to finances, or granted other privileges. With over 3,000 installations worldwide, Viisage's identity solutions stand out as a result of the Company's industry-leading technology and unique understanding of customer needs. Viisage's product suite includes IdentityTOOLS(TM) SDK, Viisage PROOF(TM), FaceEXPLORER(R), iA-thenticate(R), ID-GUARD(R), BorderGuard(R), PIER(TM), HIIDE(TM), AutoTest(TM), FacePASS(TM) and FaceFINDER(R). This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this document and those made from time to time by Viisage through its senior management are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect the Company's current views with respect to the future events or financial performance discussed in this release, based on management's beliefs and assumptions and information currently available. When used, the words "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "project", "should", "expect", "plan", "assume" and similar expressions that do not relate solely to historical matters identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements concerning future plans or results are necessarily only estimates and actual results could differ materially from expectations. Certain factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, among other things, in particular, the size and timing of contract awards, performance on contracts, performance of acquired companies, availability and cost of key components, unanticipated results from audits of the financial results of the Company and acquired companies, changing interpretations of generally accepted accounting principles, outcomes of government reviews, developments with respect to litigation to which we are a party, potential fluctuations in quarterly results, dependence on large contracts and a limited number of customers, lengthy sales and implementation cycles, market acceptance of new or enhanced products and services, proprietary technology and changing competitive conditions, system performance, management of growth, dependence on key personnel, ability to obtain project financing, general economic and political conditions and other factors affecting spending by customers, and the unpredictable nature of working with government agencies. In addition, such risks and uncertainties include, among others, the following risks: that the merger with Identix will not close, that the regulatory or shareholder approval will not be obtained, that the closing will be delayed, that customers and partners will not react favorably to the merger, integration risks, the risk that the combined companies may be unable to achieve cost-cutting synergies, and other risks described in Viisage's and Identix' Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including the Registration Statement on Form S-4 to be filed with the SEC in connection with the transaction, Viisage's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2005 under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," and Identix' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2005 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended September 30, 2005 and December 31, 2005 under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations." Viisage expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.