NW_20000710_en_VASCO's Digipass Technology Helps Fight Crime by Securing Internet Gang Database
E-GOV 2000 CONFERENCE, WASHINGTON, DC - July 11, 2000 - When criminal investigators from the Chicago area sought leads in a 1998 gang-related double homicide, associative and relational data provided by the Gang Reduction Analysis Bulletin (GRAB) contributed to the arrests of multiple offenders. Currently accessible on the Internet at http://www.ccspd.org/, GRAB was developed and is managed by the Cook County Sheriff's Police Department in Chicago, Illinois. Cook County encompasses the City of Chicago and 129 suburban municipalities in a 950-square mile area, with a total population of more than five million residents.
VASCO Data Security International, Inc.'s (NASDAQ & EASDAQ: VDSI; www.vasco.com; Booth #650) Digipass™ technology provides security for the GRAB system, which is the only Internet-accessible criminal intelligence database run by a US law enforcement agency.
"The GRAB program was implemented in 1996 to provide law enforcement agencies in the Chicago area and throughout the US with intelligence on those individuals involved with criminal street gangs. We find that gangs in the Chicago area are very transient today and normally take the path of least law enforcement resistance when plying their criminal trades," explained Fred Hafner, Director of Criminal Intelligence for the Sheriff's Police Gang Crimes Unit. "Once they relocate, their criminal success is directly proportional to their anonymity. GRAB is designed to eliminate that anonymity by use of the Internet."
With VASCO's Digipass 300 authentication device that generates a one-time password, only officially authorized law enforcement personnel have access to the confidential data contained in GRAB. Users must have their PIN number to activate their Digipass 300, their proper log-in name, and the Digipass itself to gain access to the protected database, creating a high level of security. The devices also allow for complete portability, since users can access the database from any computer with a web browser, at any time and from anywhere in the world.
To participate in the GRAB program, law enforcement personnel must register with the Cook County Sheriff's Police and subsequently attend a one-day training seminar that certifies them in proper, legitimate use of the Internet database. Officers then receive their individually programmed Digipass 300. Within the last 18 months, 170 law enforcement personnel representing 35 different law enforcement agencies from four states have been authorized, trained and certified to access GRAB. The system has assisted officers during drug trafficking, homicide, assault and robbery investigations.
Jan Valcke, General Manager for VASCO, believes that law enforcement agencies worldwide could benefit from putting information about criminals on the Internet. "VASCO has thoroughly satisfied security concerns regarding Internet databases," he noted. "Law enforcement agencies could follow Cook County's lead and leverage the power of the Internet to help reduce crime, easily and affordably."
About VASCO
VASCO secures the enterprise from the mainframe to the Internet with infrastructure solutions that enable secure e-business and e-commerce, protect sensitive information, and safeguard the identity of users. The company's family of Digipass™, VACMAN®, and SnareWorks™ products offers end-to-end security through true Single Sign-On, access control and advanced entitlements, web portal security, strong user authentication, and PKI enablement, while sharply reducing the time and effort required to deploy and manage security. VASCO's customers include hundreds of financial institutions, blue-chip corporations, and government agencies in more than 50 countries, among them John Hancock, ABN AMRO Bank, Shell, 3M, Ericsson, Rabobank, SEB, First Union, Liberty Mutual, Cable and Wireless, Nokia, DaimlerChrysler, Volvo, European Commission, US Coast Guard, University of Groningen, and Duke University. VASCO's partners include Intel, Computer Associates, Lernout & Hauspie, Check Point Software Technologies, Novell, S1, Brokat, and Netlife. More information is available at www.vasco.com.
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Bridgeman Communications VASCO Data Security nv/sa
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Americas:
Media: Kerry Roche, Bridgeman Communications, +1 617 742 7270, [email protected]
Investor Relations: Todd Fromer, KCSA Public Relations Worldwide, +1 212 682 6300, [email protected]
VASCO: Mike Lange, +1 630 932 8844, [email protected]
Europe/Asia:
Media (Benelux): Bob Pieters, Anthonissen & Associates, +32 3 286 7777, [email protected]
Media (Europe/Asia): Sven Kersten, HBI, +49 89 99 38 87 33, [email protected]
Investor Relations: Annemieke Blondeel, LBConsult, +44 208 308 7080, [email protected]
VASCO: Ariane Bosmans, +32 2 456 9810, [email protected]