Digimarc to improve Nevada driver's license security

Digimarc Corp. will enhance the security of driver's licenses issued in Nevada under a new contract valued at $29.2 million over seven years.

Under the contract, Digimarc of Beaverton, Ore., will help the state migrate from an approach where driver's licenses are issued in individual Motor Vehicle Department branches to one where they are processed at a central facility.

In addition, the company will provide a biometric identification system that uses facial-recognition technology to block applicants from attempting to obtain multiple driver's licenses using different identities. It also will provide digital watermarks to thwart counterfeiting and fraud.

The biometric approach is expected to significantly enhance the security of the process in keeping with the mandates of the Real ID Act of 2005.

Digimarc specializes in secure identity and media management. It has additional offices in Burlington, Mass., Fort Wayne, Ind., and Washington.