Passport photos are a prime target for fraud. Veridos’ technology makes it possible to add virtually tamperproof, razor-sharp, lifelike colour images to passports.

The demand for high-security document features has driven research into optical technologies capable of producing effects that are both visually striking and extremely difficult to counterfeit.

Thales has unveiled MultiApp 5.2 Premium PQC, which it claims is the world’s first smartcard certified to resist attacks from quantum computers . Certified by ANSSI, France’s national cybersecurity agency, the product incorporates cryptographic signatures based on the Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 204, one of the new NIST-approved post-quantum algorithms derived from structured lattice mathematics. This enables the card to withstand future quantum decryption methods that threaten conventional RSA and ECC encryption.

While identity documents and secure credentials form the majority of the content in this newsletter, ID & Secure Document News™ also has a remit to cover the use of technology to provide an identity to the products that we consume. As the digital infrastructure of the EU evolves, the Digital Product Passport (DPP) is emerging as a core regulatory instrument for product traceability and lifecycle data.

Digital transformation affects all areas of life, including identity documents. The debate as to whether physical ID documents should be phased out in favour of fully digital solutions is still continuing, but has recently lost some of its verve, and for good reason. From a security perspective, and from a merely practical viewpoint, for many use cases, physical identity documents remain irreplaceable. They are, and will continue to be, the anchor of trust for establishing a person’s identity.

In an article recently published in Securing Industry, Dr Mark Deakes, chair of the new International Optical Technologies Association (IOTA), sets out how optical technologies are spearheading efforts to protect identity documents.

In recent years, the digitalisation of services has become a key area of focus for governments and businesses alike. With digitalisation comes an increasing reliance on digital interactions, and it is therefore becoming paramount for individuals to possess secure, accessible, and verifiable digital identity credentials.

A recent online article from Maryia Valchanina, Head of Data Processing at Regula, sheds light on one of the lesser-discussed challenges in the field of document authentication: the verification of professional identity documents.

Capturing biometric data has traditionally been a time-consuming and labour-intensive process, requiring significant staff intervention, multiple touchpoints, and presenting a heightened risk of human error. Today, the deployment of advanced enrolment kiosks has transformed these tasks, automating each step of data collection and verification to improve efficiency and accuracy.

At the recent High Security Printing™ EMEA conference in Basel, Switzerland, Dr Alexander Brannan from the University of Manchester, and Gary Spinks of Security Fibres UK, presented advances in colour-changing smart materials designed for rapid authentication. This technology addresses key issues in anticounterfeiting by integrating academic research with industrial application.