Bahrain Joins ICAO Public Key Directory

HID, a leader in trusted identity solutions, has been awarded with a contract to supply Bahrain with an end-to-end ePassport solution.

HID’s solution will enable the Gulf nation to take a significant step in its identity journey by moving from a machine-readable passport (MRP) to an electronic passport. The solution will be supported by HID’s chip operating system SOMA™ and HID Integrale™, a modular ID system for enrolment, personalisation and issuance of identity documents.

The ePassport will store biometric and biographic data of Bahraini citizens in the chip, increasing overall security and trust in the travel document. With this deployment, Bahrain will be able to join the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Public Key Directory (PKD) group of 180 countries that can access and exchange passport data. ICAO PKD countries are able to share cryptographic keys that allow them to access and read the data in the chip.