Hirsch Organizes for Digital Identity Growth

Early this year, Hirsch Electronics merged with leading smart card reader manufacturer SCM Microsystems, Inc. Last month, the combined company announced an agreement to acquire Bluehill ID AG, which consists of a leading group of identification technology offerings and services. Rob Zivney, while vice president of marketing for Hirsch, has pioneered Hirsch's initiatives in identity, credential and access management (ICAM) using smart cards in vertical markets, especially the federal government sector. In order to assure Hirsch's position as a leading global systems provider of smart card-based identity solutions for access control, Zivney has accepted the new position of VP business development to focus on growing this business.

"I have enjoyed building the Hirsch brand and putting in place the many capable people that can carry on the day-to-day marketing activities," said Mr. Zivney. "However, for the past few years, I really have been focused on initiatives that make Hirsch a driving force in the move to digital identities for access control. These initiatives include standards development, industry trade organization participation, market/product definition, government relations and other activities that eventually led to the merger with SCM."

Mr. Zivney is on the Security Industry Association (SIA) Board of Directors, is the chair of the SIA Personal Identity Verification (PIV) Working Group and serves on standards committees for both SIA and ASHRAE's BACnet. He has testified before the U.S. Congress on behalf of the security industry regarding implementation of the PIV card mandated by Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12).

"The next generation of physical, logical and network access control security requires the use of trusted digital identities," commented Larry Midland, executive vice president of SCM Microsystems, Inc. and president of Hirsch Electronics. "Through the combined use of smart cards, PIN codes, biometrics and certificates, trust can be increased, leading to enhanced security of personnel, facilities and digital information. Therefore, we need to focus our management team on the opportunities for convergence that cross technological, organizational and traditional boundaries. Rob is the right man for the job.

"Rob has the vision to bring the opportunities back to our R&D team so we can continue to create the leading edge solutions for identity, credential and access management," continued Mr. Midland. "He has been an advocate for standards, new systems architectures, public key infrastructure (PKI), biometrics, encryption, interoperability, and being first. We believe his new focus will build on his strengths in these areas and position our newly combined companies for even more growth in the digital identities arena."

About Hirsch Electronics

Hirsch designs and manufactures security systems for worldwide markets. Hirsch's security and identity management systems integrate access control, video surveillance, intrusion detection, digital certificates, smart cards and biometrics. Hirsch is part of SCM Microsystems, Inc., provider of the world's broadest range of smart card reader technology. Together, Hirsch and SCM bring convergence to reality by integrating physical and logical security. Their solutions enable organizations and individuals to secure their facilities, information and electronic transactions. (NASDAQ: SCMM, Prime Standard: SMY) www.HirschElectronics.com

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SOURCE: Hirsch Electronics

Hirsch Electronics 
Scott Howell, 949-250-8888 
marketing@hirschelectronics.com