News | ID & Secure Document News

Francis Tuffy

21 May 2026

2 min read

Covestro and EMPTECH Announce Partnership

German polymer manufacturer, Covestro, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with China’s EMPTECH to co-develop high-security identity document solutions. The partnership targets passports, national ID cards and driving licences. According to the companies, the purpose of the partnership is to improve the fit between substrate behaviour, security-feature integration and personalisation process control.

Company

Francis Tuffy

19 May 2026

2 min read

New Document Issue

On 15 April 2026, the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) introduced a new foreign nationals identity document (type W) for applicants awaiting a decision on a temporary or permanent asylum residence permit. The credential enables holders to prove identity, nationality and lawful stay in the Netherlands, while supporting rapid first-line checks in operational environments.

ID Cards Passports

Francis Tuffy

10 May 2026

2 min read

Australia Acts Against Identity Crimes

Australia is stepping up its response to identity crime through the Credential Protection Register (CPR), a national capability designed to stop stolen or compromised identity document details being misused in everyday verification checks.

Fraud Detection

Francis Tuffy

4 May 2026

2 min read

New Document Issue – Netherlands Foreign Nationals ID Document

On 15 April 2026, the Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) introduced a new Foreign Nationals identity document (type W) for applicants awaiting a decision on a temporary or permanent asylum residence permit. The credential enables holders to prove identity, nationality and lawful stay in the Netherlands, while supporting rapid first-line checks in operational environments.

ID Cards

Francis Tuffy

27 April 2026

2 min read

epicenter.works Proposes Amendments to the EUDI Wallet

A new paper from digital rights group epicenter.works takes an engineering-centred look at the European Commission’s draft eIDAS implementing acts for the European Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet.

Studies, Reports

Francis Tuffy

27 April 2026

5 min read

News in Brief

Rwanda’s Information Society Authority (RISA) has launched a procurement for a ‘Single Digital ID Card Printing and Personalisation System and related consumables’ under the Rwanda Digital Acceleration Project.

News

Frank Schmalz

27 April 2026

4 min read

Digital Travel Credentials: The Passport of the Future?

Global travel is not just growing; it is outpacing the infrastructure designed to support it.

Technical Features

Francis Tuffy

27 April 2026

2 min read

Final Call for Papers

The technical committee for the Optical & Digital Document Security™ (ODDS) conference, taking place 25-27 January 2027, in Berlin, Germany, is issuing a final reminder for technical paper submissions. The deadline for submissions is Friday 1 May 2026, and the response so far has been strong with many high-quality abstracts already received.

Event Previews

Francis Tuffy

27 April 2026

2 min read

Nano-Engineered Optics for Passport and ID Card Protection

Counterfeiters are no longer limited to simple print and overlay methods to make counterfeit security features. High-resolution imaging, better foils, and wider access to precision tooling mean that many familiar ‘tilt effects’ can be imitated well enough to pass quick, first-line checks—especially on identity cards and passport datapages where the attack is aimed at the portrait and personal data.

ID Cards

Francis Tuffy

27 April 2026

3 min read

MicroCloud Hologram’s Quantum Identity Authentication

A Cayman Islands holding company has issued a statement saying it has developed two ‘practical’ quantum identity authentication schemes based on Grover’s quantum search algorithm. MicroCloud Hologram Inc (NASDAQ: HOLO) describes one scheme intended for environments with a trusted third party (TTP) and a second scheme designed to operate without a third party, for more decentralised applications.

Technology

Francis Tuffy

27 April 2026

3 min read

100 Not Out! India Security Press Reaches its Century

On 7 March 2026, India Security Press (ISP), Nashik, marked its centenary with a series of commemorative events, including the inauguration of the Shatabdi Dwar (Centenary Gate) and Shatabdi Udyaan (Centenary Garden), as well as the release of a commemorative postage stamp. While the occasion marked 100 years of history, the stamp signalled more than a mere milestone; it underscored a technological pivot within one of Asia’s key security printing institutions.

Country Profile

Francis Tuffy

27 April 2026

4 min read

Editorial – Metrology is the Glue of Trade

This is probably not the most attention-grabbing title for an editorial, but for a while I worked at the UK’s National Physical Laboratory (NPL) in London, where part of the lab’s job is supporting standards work through the British Standards Institution (BSI). That experience left me with two impressions about metrology.

Editorial Free Free

Francis Tuffy

27 April 2026

6 min read

10 Years of LASINK™: Colour and Security at the Heart of Sovereign Identity Documents

It’s been 10 years since LASINK™ was introduced into the ID and secure document market. In this technical feature celebrating the impact of the technology, IN Groupe takes a look at what LASINK™ has achieved in improving secure colour portraiture.

Technical Features

Francis Tuffy

20 April 2026

3 min read

MicroCloud Hologram’s Quantum Identity Authentication

A Cayman Islands holding company has issued a statement saying it has developed two ‘practical’ quantum identity authentication schemes based on Grover’s quantum search algorithm. MicroCloud Hologram Inc. (NASDAQ: HOLO) describes one scheme intended for environments with a trusted third party (TTP) and a second scheme designed to operate without a third party, for more decentralised applications.

Technical Features

Jean-Charles Devynck

19 April 2026

5 min read

Level-1 Security: The Foundation of Designing Next-Generation Identity Documents

Designing next-generation identity documents requires more than layering security features. It requires structured engineering decisions that balance optical security, structural integrity, personalization technologies, and forensic resilience.

Free ID Cards Free

Francis Tuffy

13 April 2026

1 min read

Biometric Data Collection Begins In Madagascar

Madagascar has begun collecting citizens’ biometric data as the first operational step toward issuing new digital identity cards under the Civil Registration and Identification Reform (RECI) programme, implemented with support from the World Bank. Enrolment centres have opened in parts of the capital, Antananarivo, including a site at the University of Antananarivo, where residents aged 18 and over can register.

Biometrics

Francis Tuffy

6 April 2026

2 min read

Evaluation of Biometric Testing in the EU

A new policy brief led by Europol under the EU Innovation Hub for Internal Security examines how biometric performance is independently evaluated in Europe and what technical building blocks would be needed to establish an EU-run capability comparable to the large-scale programmes operated by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the US.

Biometrics

Francis Tuffy

29 March 2026

2 min read

Growing Interest in US Private-Sector Biometric ID Travel Services

Lengthening security queues at US airports are driving renewed consumer demand for paid private-sector biometric identity services that can reduce time spent at identity-check points. Business Insider reports a sharp increase in interest in CLEAR, a paid biometric lane service, as disruption spread across major airport hubs.

Biometrics

Francis Tuffy

25 March 2026

5 min read

News in Brief

A misconfigured cloud storage environment linked to Abu Dhabi Finance Week (ADFW) left scans of 700 passports and state ID cards belonging to high-profile delegates publicly accessible after the December 2025 event.

News

Francis Tuffy

25 March 2026

3 min read

EU Entry/Exit and Summer Travel

Some recent media reports argue that the rollout of the EU Entry/ Exit System (EES) should be delayed, to ‘avoid risky summer travel chaos’. In reality, EES rollout is already well underway but there is a legitimate concern about how quickly it is being deployed and whether biometric enrolment should be scaled back at busy European tourist border crossings this summer.

Government

Latest News

Covestro and EMPTECH Announce Partnership

New Document Issue

Australia Acts Against Identity Crimes

New Document Issue – Netherlands Foreign Nationals ID Document

epicenter.works Proposes Amendments to the EUDI Wallet

News in Brief

Digital Travel Credentials: The Passport of the Future?

Final Call for Papers

Nano-Engineered Optics for Passport and ID Card Protection

MicroCloud Hologram’s Quantum Identity Authentication

100 Not Out! India Security Press Reaches its Century

Editorial – Metrology is the Glue of Trade

10 Years of LASINK™: Colour and Security at the Heart of Sovereign Identity Documents

MicroCloud Hologram’s Quantum Identity Authentication

Level-1 Security: The Foundation of Designing Next-Generation Identity Documents

Biometric Data Collection Begins In Madagascar

Evaluation of Biometric Testing in the EU

Growing Interest in US Private-Sector Biometric ID Travel Services

News in Brief

EU Entry/Exit and Summer Travel

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