Neubiberg, Germany, May 23, 2013–Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) today announced that it is supplying security chips to Taiwan’s electronic passport program. Infineon is the only supplier and has started shipping security chips of the SLE78 product family based on the digital security technology “Integrity Guard”. Taiwan has been issuing one million electronic passports (ePassports) per year to its approximately 23 million citizens since 2008. The passports have a validity of ten years and comply with latest ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) standards for travel documents.

This is the second major project driven by the government of Taiwan that relies on security chips from Infineon: more than 25 million pieces have already been shipped for the electronic health cards of the Taiwan Health Care Project.

“The new contract for the ePassport program in Taiwan is further proof of the fact that Infineon’s security chips with “Integrity Guard” technology are the preferred solution for electronic passports and IDs. They fulfill highest requirements with regards to data security of electronic identification documents and are thus an anchor of trust for authorities and citizens worldwide,” says Carsten Loschinsky, Vice President and Head of Business Line Government ID for the Chip Card & Security Division of Infineon Technologies.”

ID cards, passports, health cards and driving licenses increasingly are being issued in the form of electronic documents, comprising a security chip, in order to protect them more effectively against counterfeiting and falsification while increasing convenience for the ID holder. The personal data is stored and processed by security chips integrated into the smart cards and electronic documents. Infineon supplies security chips for the electronic passports of the largest countries in the world including USA, Brazil, China and India. Furthermore, 90 per cent of all European national eID projects utilize Infineon’s security chips, including Germany where Infineon also supplies the electronic health card project.

Electronic passports and IDs with a long period of validity require particularly high protection of personal data against falsification. Unlike conventional analog security concepts, the digital approach of Infineon’s “Integrity Guard” offers particularly solid protection against unauthorized data manipulation. “Integrity Guard” is the first technology of its kind to combine two processing units with fully encrypted data processing. The personal data of the card holder are not only stored but also processed in encrypted form. The processors also continuously cross-check each other’s operations. Should a unit detect that an operation has not been properly executed, for example if somebody tries to manipulate the data, the ongoing processes are immediately stopped. Further information is available at: http://www.infineon.com/integrityGuard

Infineon exhibits its extensive portfolio of security chips for electronic identification documents at the SDW Conference (http://www.sdw2013.com) in London, May 21-23, 2013.

Security for the connected world

Based on its core competences in the fields of security, contactless communication and integrated microcontroller solutions (embedded control), Infineon offers an extensive portfolio of semiconductor-based security products for many chip card and security applications. With this expertise, Infineon is helping to increase security in an increasingly networked world, for example for mobile payment, for system security and secure electronic ID documents. For over 25 years, Infineon has developed innovative solutions in the area of hardware-based security and has been a global market leader for 15 consecutive years. For more information about chip cards and security solutions at Infineon, please see: http://www.infineon.com/chip-card-and-security

About Infineon

Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions addressing three central challenges to modern society: energy efficiency, mobility, and security. In the 2012 fiscal year (ending September 30), the Company reported sales of Euro 3.9 billion with close to 26,700 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY).