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Humanity is becoming increasingly mobile and the identity of the individual is becoming a security issue. Countries are interested in maximum security of travel documents and depend on cutting-edge technology, particularly when issuing visas and border controls at airports.

At a Berlin conference on the ID Security World at Hotel Adlon, numerous ambassadors, ministerial counselors and consuls were informed about the very latest developments. It is not only the number of people around the world that is increasing rapidly, but also their mobility across national borders. With the increase in holiday and business travel and the sharp rise in legal and illegal migration, the secure establishment of identity is becoming a challenge for state authorities in order to stay one step ahead of counterfeiters.

Chronically overloaded consulates

To date, many visas are still produced manually. Embassies and consulates are chronically overloaded. In order to speed up the process and increase safety at the same time, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) sets a standard for machine-readable visas and travel documents. This standard is the prerequisite for machines from various origins to be able to read visas.

With stored biometric data, electronic identity documents are the basis for automated border controls and rapid passenger processing. Countries must continuously invest in technical innovations and digital solutions.

Ever more sophisticated features

The features of passports, visas, identity cards, driver's licenses, bank cards and bank notes are becoming ever more sophisticated and make business difficult for counterfeiters. These include special color inkjet printers for visa labels, laser printing technology, laser engraving, laminating materials, metallic components, contactless chip technology, surface structures, holographic structures, round screen watermarks, integration of security fibers and security threads, and special coatings for digital printing. The passport holder can see almost none of this with the naked eye.

Detecting counterfeits

The host for the top diplomas was the German security company Diletta Maschinentechnik GmbH, which produces the machines for personalized, highly secure travel documents, military records, identity cards, visas, driver's licenses, birth certificates and for the recognition of forgeries and is active in more than 170 countries, as well as their Strategic Partners, including the E7 Group from the United Arab Emirates with the most advanced security printing house for documents from governments and financial institutions; Landqart AG from Switzerland, which produces a high-tech material for passports and banknotes made from a composite of conventional cotton paper with polymer (DST, Durasafe Travel), finally the Italian company Centro Grafico DG based in Milan, which specializes in security printing with production technology for holographic films and films. Together, they offer governments ONE PACKAGE & ONE STOP SOLUTIONS, which the ambassadors were interested in in detail. The diplo.news team was there as a media partner.

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