BEDFORD, Mass., March 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aware, Inc. (Nasdaq: AWRE), a global provider of imaging and biometrics software, today announced that NASA has deployed Aware's new Biometric Workflow Platform^™ (BWP) as a key component of its PIV-compliant credentialing system upgrade. Aware's BWP^™, a service-oriented server platform, was used by ID Networks, a system integrator, to bring the NASA credentialing system into full compliance with PIV standards and requirements. In addition to BWP, Aware's PIVSuite^™ software components were used to develop the new enrollment workstation application, tailored by ID Networks to NASA's specific role-based workflow and requirements. The application performs all required enrollment and administrative functions, including collection of biometric fingerprint, facial, and applicant signature images, data formatting, and credential validation. Using BWP, NASA was able to conduct a biometric enrollment proof-of-concept in under five weeks, and a fully functional test system able to produce compliant PIV cards was in place in just twelve weeks.

BWP was used to overlay the legacy infrastructure, establishing connectivity between the new enrollment application and the existing identity management and card management systems, the certificate authority, and the Office of Personnel Management for background checks. Its success at NASA was due largely to its highly programmable, configurable nature. Another differentiating feature of BWP is its incorporation of functionality traditionally performed remotely at workstations but more efficiently performed centrally as a web service. The result is much greater control and visibility over the entire enrollment network and process.

"The launch of BWP and its successful deployment at NASA represents Aware's intent to leverage our deep expertise in image processing and biometrics software towards new service-oriented, server-based products. The combination of these disciplines will yield truly unique and innovative solutions for our customers," commented Rob Mungovan, vice president of the Advanced Products Group at Aware. "We will continue to maintain our focus on providing system integrators with this leading-edge technology, so they may utilize their own core strengths to deploy customized, differentiated system solutions for their government customers."

About Aware's BWP

Aware's BWP is a modular, flexible, server-based software platform that enables developers and integrators to rapidly build and deploy multimodal biometric data workflow solutions in support of a service-oriented architecture (SOA).

BWP facilitates automation by using biometric and biographic data to drive related business processes. It is ideally suited for applications that require the collection of biometrics throughout a distributed network, and subsequent aggregation, analysis, processing, and integration of this data with other enterprise solutions.

Examples include the use of remote enrollment workstations to capture biometric data and submit it to a central database, IDMS, CMS, or a biometric identification system. BWP can manage all aspects of the transaction workflow, including messaging, submissions, responses, and logging.

More information about BWP is available at www.aware.com/bwp.

About PIVSuite

PIVSuite is a family of biometric software components available for integrators to develop FIPS 201-compliant enrollment, card personalization, and biometric identity verification solutions. PIVSuite provides important biometric functionality required for FIPS 201 standards compliance, including automated biometric facial and fingerprint image capture, image and data compliance assurance, fingerprint template generation and matching, fingerprint background checking, and ID card formatting and reading.

PIVSuite is GSA-approved for nine different fingerprint capture station product configurations. Three configurations include PIVSuite software paired with consumer-grade flatbed scanners for fingerprint card scan applications; six configurations combine PIVSuite with two live scan devices from each of three suppliers. Aware's PreFace^™/PIVPack^™, a component of PIVSuite, is the first and currently the only approved solution in the Facial Image Capture Middleware category. Another component of PIVSuite, Aware XM^™ "extract and match" software, is approved in both the Template Generator and Template Matcher categories. Aware XM provides ANSI/INCITS 378-compliant, MINEX- certified fingerprint minutiae template generation and matching for 1:1 biometric verification applications. In addition, PIVSuite includes Aware's NISTPack^™ for fingerprint background check submissions, FastCapture^™ for real-time tenprint autocapture, and AccuScan^™ for fingerprint card scan. Each component of PIVSuite can be licensed and integrated individually.

The Aware tools are designed to assist government contractors with standards-based design requirements for the data acquired by the enrollment systems, stored on the ID cards, and read by the verification systems. More information is available at www.aware.com/piv.

About PIV and the new government employee and contractor IDs

Biometric specifications for the PIV government employee ID program were published by NIST in Special Publication 800-76. These specifications are part of a larger body of work headed by NIST to standardize biometric-enabled ID cards for all federal government employees and contractors, as specified in the new "FIPS 201: Personal Identity Verification (PIV) for Federal Employees and Contractors". This new standard is a result of Homeland Security Presidential Directive HSPD-12 issued by President Bush in August 2004, which mandates standardization of IDs and their use for the purpose of controlling access to government facilities and information systems. More information on HSPD-12 can be found online at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040827-8.html.

About Aware

Aware is a veteran of the biometrics industry, providing biometric and imaging software components used in government systems worldwide since 1992. Aware's interoperable, standard-compliant, field-proven imaging products are used in a number of applications, from border management to criminal justice to medical imaging. Aware is also a leading technology supplier for the telecommunications industries. For more than ten years, Aware has pioneered innovations at telecommunications standards-setting organizations and continues to develop and market DSL silicon intellectual property and test and diagnostics products. Its StratiPHY^™ IP product line supports DSL standards, including ADSL2+ and VDSL2, and has been broadly licensed to leading semiconductor companies. Telecom equipment vendors and phone companies use Aware's DSL test and diagnostics modules and Dr. DSL^® software to help provision DSL circuits globally. Aware is a publicly held company (Nasdaq: AWRE) based in Bedford, Massachusetts. www.aware.com

Safe Harbor Warning

Portions of this release contain forward-looking statements regarding future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties, such as estimates or projections of future revenue and earnings and the growth of the DSL and biometrics markets. Aware wishes to caution you that there are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results indicated by such statements. The DSL factors include, but are not limited to: we have a unique business model, our quarterly results are difficult to predict, we depend on a limited number of licensees, we derive a significant amount of revenue from a small number of customers, we depend on equipment companies to incorporate our technology into their products, we face intense competition from other DSL vendors, DSL technology competes with other technologies for broadband access, and our business is subject to rapid technological change. We refer you to the documents Aware files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, specifically the section titled Risk Factors in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2005 and other reports and filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Biometric Workflow Platform, BWP, PIVSuite, Aware XM, NISTPack, FastCapture, AccuScan, PreFace, PIVPack, StratiPHY, and Dr. DSL are trademarks or registered trademarks of Aware, Inc. Any other trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.

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SOURCE Aware, Inc.

CONTACT: Sarah LaLiberte, Aware, Inc., +1-781-687-0695,
sarahl@aware.com