September 05, 2006
U.S. State Department Advances NXP Technology for ePassport Program
Company's secure smart chip technology now powers 30 out of 36 ePassport programs globally
Eindhoven, The Netherlands, September 5, 2006 - NXP, the newly independent semiconductor company
founded by Philips, today announced that the United States Department of State has chosen NXP as one
of its suppliers of secure semiconductor technology for its new electronic passport (ePassport) program.
The new passports, designed to enhance border security and to facilitate international travel of U.S. citizens,
contain secure contactless smart chip technology inside the cover. They can be scanned at authorized passport
control points to speed the authentification process and increase security. The new ePassports will be rolled
out across the United States by the end of the first quarter of 2007.
The new U.S. passport is similar to today's passport with the addition of a small contactless smart chip.
The chip securely stores the same data visually displayed on the photo page of the passport, and will also
include a digital photograph. The photograph enables biometric comparison to ensure that the bearer of the
passport is the person to whom it was issued by his or her government. The new passport will also incorporate
additional anti-fraud and security features to further enhance national security.
The State Department has also included a number of features to address privacy issues and to ensure the
safe-keeping of information. The read range of the contactless smart chip is only a few centimeters and special
shielding material has been built into the cover to prevent communication with the chip while the cover is closed.
In addition, the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) basic access control (BAC) standard is used to
prevent skimming and eavesdropping (attempts to read the contactless high frequency communication between
the passport chip and the reader device at the border control station). These combined features will mitigate the
potential for unauthorized reading of the ePassport.
NXP has achieved more than 80 percent of all smart passport implementations globally. Thirty countries including
the U.S have selected the secure, contactless smart chip technology from NXP. Other countries using NXP technology
include Austria, France, Germany, New Zealand and Singapore. For the U.S. ePassport program NXP is supplying its
chip technology to the smart card manufacturer Gemalto, who has the overall lead for providing secure smart card
packages for the ePassports. Gemalto's package was recently selected by the State Department for final test and
evaluation, a precursor to volume orders and issuance to the U.S. public.
"Security, performance and reliability are the key factors for e-passport program consideration," said
Frans van Houten, president and CEO, NXP. "The selection by the U.S. State Department and 29 other national
governments around the globe is a strong endorsement of our global leadership in this semiconductor segment,
and we look forward to long-standing relationships in delivering this important technology."
NXP's SmartMX passport chip solutions meet the ICAO BAC data security and access standard, selected for the
security in new passports. The BAC standard prevents illicit reading of e-passports by requiring that the passport
be physically open and presented to an authorized reader at a Customs border crossing point. The official must
first scan the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) of the passport, obtaining a key that authenticates the passport
contactlessly, and only then transmits the passport holder's information via a secure, encrypted communication.
About NXP:
NXP is a top 10 semiconductor company founded by Philips more than 50 years ago. Headquartered in Europe,
the company has 37,000 employees working in 20 countries across the world. NXP creates semiconductors,
system solutions and software that deliver better sensory experiences in mobile phones, personal media players,
TVs, set-top boxes, identification applications, cars and a wide range of other electronic devices. News from NXP
is located at www.nxp.com.
Forward-looking Statements
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements with respect to the financial condition, results of
operations and business of NXP and certain plans and objectives of NXP with respect to these items. By their
nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on
circumstances that will occur in the future and there are many factors that could cause actual results and developments
to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.