NASPO Press Release:

Washington, D.C., Aug. 31, 2005 -- The North American Security Products Organization (NASPO) has approved the submission of the "Security Assurance Standards for the Document & Product Security Industries" security standard for public review and approval in compliance with American National Standards Institute (ANSI) protocols. The proposed national standard is focused upon security risks related to brand authentication, identity fraud and financial fraud. The standard addresses the protection of security technologies and products by providing a framework to certify developers, integrators and end users, to form a secure supply chain from the producer of a security technology to the consumer.

NASPO Chairman, Michael O'Neil states, "This standard is the culmination of a multi-year effort by NASPO's members, representative companies and other stakeholders who are actively involved in this on-going process. It is a milestone in the progress of NASPO and demonstrates the focus and dedication of the membership to fight fraud at a level not seen before in the United States and Canada.

NASPO's standard is the only security standard of its type in North America and is available to end users for their use in requisition and procurement specifications. By selecting a specific security classification level and/or requirements necessary to deliver security assurance at that level, end users can pre-qualify potential bidders and contractors saving time and eliminating the need for customer specific audits. Chairman of the NASPO National Standards Committee, David Brown commented, "While we have standards that address a variety of security issues, this standard is the most holistic approach we have to date to address the fraud and security issues that every organization is faced with today."

The proposed standard is open for comment now until October 17, 2005, as part of the ANSI required public review process. Downloadable copies of the proposed standard are available at www.naspo.info or http://www.ansi.org. Any comments should be E-mailed to nnsc@naspo.info or Faxed to: (604) 921 9171. All comments will be carefully reviewed and a prompt response provided to the commenter by the NASPO National Standards Committee.

NASPO is a non-profit member-supported organization that certifies that providers of security documents, labels, cards, packaging, materials and technology operate under an agreed-upon set of operational standards and security protocols. NASPO is an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited "SDO" (Standards Development Organization). ANSI is a private, non-profit organization (501(c)3) that administers and coordinates the U.S. voluntary standardization and conformity assessment system.

For more information please contact:

Graham Whitehead
Director of Auditing & Exec. Sec.
Tel: (604) 921-9196

E-mail: gdw-mail@telus.net