GSA Approves Aware Biometrics Software for PIV in Five Product Categories

Aware’s PIVSuite, PIVPack, PreFace, and Aware XM SDK products approved by FIPS 201 Evaluation Program for fingerprint capture, facial image capture, and template generation and matching.

BEDFORD, Mass. – October 27, 2006 – Aware, Inc. (NASDAQ: AWRE), a leading supplier of broadband technology and biometrics software, today announced General Services Administration (GSA) approval of several Aware biometrics software products for use in Personal Identity Verification (PIV) solutions for federal employees and contractors. Aware provides approved products in five categories: Fingerprint Capture Station, Facial Image Capture Middleware, Facial Image Capture Station (Physical), Template Generator, and Template Matcher. Solutions for both live scan and card scan fingerprint capture have been approved. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has directed federal agencies to purchase only products and services from the GSA Approved Products List for the implementation of their PIV solutions.

“The GSA product evaluation program defines more than twenty product and service categories and maintains a list of products approved for each category, which government agencies and integrators can then reference to assemble a comprehensive solution,” commented David Benini, Aware’s director of product marketing. “The highly modular, interchangeable nature of Aware’s biometric software components is particularly well suited to this procurement process, helping agencies meet the strict interoperability requirements of the program.”

PIVSuite™ is a family of biometric software components available for integrators and agencies to develop FIPS 201-compliant enrollment, card personalization, and biometric identity verification solutions. PIVSuite provides important biometric functionality required for standards compliance, including automated biometric facial and fingerprint image capture, image and data compliance assurance, fingerprint template generation and matching, fingerprint background checking, and ID card formatting and reading.

PIVSuite is approved for nine different fingerprint capture station product configurations. Three configurations include PIVSuite software paired with consumer-grade flatbed scanners for fingerprint card scan applications; six configurations combine PIVSuite with two live scan devices from each of three suppliers. Aware’s PreFace™/PIVPack™, a component of PIVSuite, is an approved solution in the Facial Image Capture Middleware category. PreFace is also approved for the Facial Image Capturing Station (Physical) category. Another component of PIVSuite, Aware XM™ “extract and match” software, is approved in both the Template Generator and Template Matcher categories. Aware XM provides ANSI/INCITS 378-compliant, MINEX-certified fingerprint minutiae template generation and matching for 1:1 biometric verification applications. In addition, PIVSuite includes Aware’s NISTPack™ for fingerprint background check submissions, FastCapture™ for real-time tenprint autocapture, and AccuScan™ for fingerprint card scan. Each component of the PIVSuite can be licensed and integrated individually.

About PIV, HSPD-12, FIPS 201, and GSA’s Evaluation Program
On August 27, 2004, President Bush signed Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which defined the government’s policy for a new identification standard for federal employees and contractors, which is secure, reliable and common across all federal agencies. In response to this directive, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) developed a common technical framework known as the Federal Information Processing Standard 201 (FIPS 201). Published in February 27, 2005, FIPS 201 serves as the blueprint that agencies can use to build their PIV solutions in compliance with HSPD-12. Additionally, NIST has established the NIST PIV Verification Program to validate PIV components and sub-systems that comply with the FIPS 201 standard. OMB has designated GSA as the executive agent for government-wide acquisitions for the implementation of HSPD-12. In this capacity, GSA evaluates products and services for compliance with FIPS 201 requirements and maintains the Approved FIPS 201 Products and Services List. OMB requires federal agencies to implement PIV solutions by using only products and services that have been through GSA’s FIPS 201 Evaluation Program and are on the GSA’s Approved FIPS 201 Products and Services List.

More information on HSPD-12 can be found online at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040827-8.html. More information on GSA’s FIPS 201 Evaluation Program and the GSA’s Approved FIPS 201 Products and Services List can be found online at: http://fips201ep.cio.gov. More information about Aware’s biometric software product offerings for PIV is available online at www.aware.com/piv.

About Aware
Aware, Inc. is a veteran of the biometrics industry, providing biometrics software components to government agencies globally since 1992. Aware continues to build upon this legacy as a leading provider of innovative, standards-compliant, hardware-independent biometrics software. Among Aware's customers are vendors and integrators who use our software to enable a broad range of biometric applications, including enrollment, personalization, and ID reading for border management, e-passports, and civil/criminal fingerprint background checks. Aware is also a leader in the development and marketing of DSL intellectual property and software technology that enables broadband communications over existing telephone networks. Aware, Inc. is a publicly held company based in Bedford, Massachusetts. More information can be found at www.aware.com/biometrics.

Safe Harbor Warning
Portions of this release contain forward-looking statements regarding future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties, such as estimates or projections of future revenue and earnings and the growth of the biometrics market. Aware wishes to caution you that there are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results indicated by such statements. We refer you to the documents Aware files from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Contact:
Sarah LaLiberte
Aware, Inc.
sarahl@aware.com
781-687-0695

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PIVSuite, PIVPack, PreFace, NISTPack, FastCapture, AccuScan, and Aware XM are trademarks of Aware, Inc. Any other trademarks appearing herein are the property of their respective owners.