XCBF Ratified as OASIS Standard

["Carol Geyer" <carol.geyer@oasis-open.org>]

XML Common Biometric Format (XCBF) Ratified as OASIS Standard

Boston, MA, USA; 16 September 2003 -- The OASIS standards consortium
today announced that its members have approved the XML Common Biometric
Format (XCBF) version 1.1 as an OASIS Standard, a status that signifies
the highest level of ratification. XCBF provides a standard way to
describe information that verifies identity based on human
characteristics such as DNA, fingerprints, iris scans, and hand
geometry. XCBF can be used in applications as varied as homeland
security, corporate privacy, law enforcement, and biotechnical research.
It will assist in identifying citizenship, measuring attendance,
controlling access to documents, facilitating non-repudiation in
commerce, and many other functions.

Tyky Aichelen of IBM, chair of the OASIS XCBF Technical Committee,
stated, "XCBF bridges the gap between the worlds of biometrics and Web
services, making it possible to have a common, standardized, secure way
to define, store, manage, and exchange biometric information with
greater interoperability between systems."

"Traditional biometric standards are based on binary encoding formats,
which severely limit their use in XML-enabled systems and applications,"
explained John Messing, American Bar Association representative to
OASIS. "By providing a standard way for biometric information to be
exchanged using XML, XCBF literally redefines biometrics as a practical
solution for a Web-based environment."

Members of the OASIS XCBF Technical Committee include Booz Allen
Hamilton, IBM, MTG Management Consultants, and others.

"OASIS is pleased to provide a forum where work from other standards
bodies can be advanced for the XML environment," noted Karl Best, vice
president of OASIS. "XCBF builds on development from Common Biometric
Exchange File Format (CBEFF), work of the American National Standards
Institute (ANSI), managed and maintained by the U.S. National Institute
of Standards Technology (NIST). This commitment to cross-consortia
collaboration is essential for interoperability among standards."

XCBF adds to the growing portfolio of OASIS Standards and specifications
for security, which also includes SAML for exchanging authentication and
authorization information, SPML for provisioning, XACML for access
control, WS-Security, and others. OASIS currently has more than 60
active technical committees.

"Life Sciences is a strategic industry in which we place great
importance," said Karla Norsworthy, director of Dynamic e-Business
Technologies for IBM. "XCBF is extremely important in the development of
products that can be more easily integrated and leveraged by our
customers that do business in the biometric life sciences industries."

About OASIS (http://www.oasis-open.org):
OASIS (Organization for the Advancement of Structured Information
Standards) is a not-for-profit, global consortium that drives the
development, convergence, and adoption of e-business standards. Members
themselves set the OASIS technical agenda, using a lightweight, open
process expressly designed to promote industry consensus and unite
disparate efforts. OASIS produces worldwide standards for security, Web
services, conformance, business transactions, electronic publishing,
topic maps and interoperability within and between marketplaces. Founded
in 1993, OASIS has more than 2,000 participants representing over 600
organizations and individual members in 100 countries.

Press contact:
Carol Geyer
Director of Communications
OASIS (www.oasis-open.org)
carol.geyer@oasis-open.org
+1.978.667.5115 x209