State-of-the-Art Border Control Technology for the Zurich Cantonal Police

The border control infrastructure’s old technology has been completely replaced and supplemented with a range of new components. The system now also meets the requirements of the VIS II Regulation for external Schengen borders (which stipulates fingerprint verification for those who require a visa). Accordingly, the control stations at Zurich Airport have been equipped with the latest generation of fingerprint and electronic passport readers. These support control staff by making it possible to conduct comprehensive optical and electronic document checks, reliably identify forgeries and manipulations, and securely inspect the identity of travellers.

In addition to the new devices, border control officers also received a new border control application for their workstations. The application is a brand new development especially designed to meet the needs of the Zurich Cantonal Police, and is built on secunet’s years of experience installing border control systems in other nations. Thanks to the intuitive and ergonomic user interface, police officers now have instant access to all important data regarding document and identity checks at a glance. The system is designed to assist them throughout the entire border control process.

Heinz Lusti, Greko NG Project Leader at the Zurich Cantonal Police, Airport Division, says: “The joint project launched by secunet and the Zurich Cantonal Police rigorously implements the current requirements of the Schengen Borders Code and is equipped to meet future standards. With short technical process times, high availability, a stable network and well-engineered devices, the authorities will now be able to effectively combat illegal migration without causing long waiting times. The system’s modern user interface with logical, process-oriented menu prompts has won over and motivated border control staff at Zurich Airport.”

“Travellers and border control staff now have access to the most state-of-the-art border control system in Europe,” explains Dr Rainer Baumgart, Chairman of the Board at secunet. “The highly modular secunet biomiddle solution and the new user interface, developed in partnership with the Zurich Cantonal Police, have set new standards in border control technology.”

The central interface of the new border control infrastructure is provided by the software secunet biomiddle. This acts as an interface between passport and fingerprint readers, the border control staff’s dedicated application and background systems. While updating the infrastructure, workstations were also connected to the Swiss police databases.

secunet offers an extensive package of solutions for border control systems and electronic identity documents. Alongside the biometric middleware secunet biomiddle, these include the eGate solution secunet easygate for automated border crossings, PKI solutions for the creation, use and administration of certificates, and client solutions with intuitive applications for the inspection of electronic identity documents at border control. These components are already used by a number of other nations, including Germany, Latvia, Norway, Austria and the Czech Republic.