Thales High Tech to Offer Thai Citizens One of the World’s Most Secure E-Passports
6.8.2020 15:00:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Even though the COVID-19 health crisis has been severely disrupting the global travel industry, in the past few months the DGM Consortium has continued its close collaboration with MOFA. Global teams were working remotely to deliver the project, supporting the Thai Government’s ‘Thailand 4.0’ vision to develop an innovative, digital economy.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200806005034/en/
Thai passports (Photo: Thales)
The new Thai e-passport project was delivered on the 8th of July to MOFA and launched in an official inauguration ceremony conducted on the 5th of August in the presence of Minister Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
The Thai e-passport project is one of the largest passport programs for Thales worldwide, as it aims to provide Thai citizens superior technology and the highest possible level of security in a travel document.
The newly designed 64-page biometric travel document includes an e-Cover and a thin, flexible data page made of polycarbonate material. The reverse side of the data page features a high definition, true color UV picture of one of Bangkok’s most iconic landmarks, the Wat Arun temple. The security features visible on the data page include an additional secondary image of the citizen perforated in the semi-transparent window; as well as the traditional Thai four-petal lotus symbol, the line-pra-jum-yam, embossed using Thales’ Secure Surface technology.
Designed to counter new types of forgeries, Thales Secure Surface provides optical elements with light reflective and animation effects revealed by tilting a document in different angles. This visible security feature allows fast and efficient verification by border authorities.
An additional perceptible feature is the tactile signature of the citizen embossed on the data page. Biometric data is securely embedded into the passport chip using Thales’ secure embedded software. This software provides strong security for identification and protection of citizens’ privacy.
The technological features of the passport ensures secure and fast border crossing, while complying with all relevant data protection laws in Thailand and is fully compliant to the highest security standards recommended by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
Since the project’s inception, Thales has trained 250 local experts in its passport issuance technologies. Over the next seven years, Thales will be operating know-how transfer and upskilling more than 500 Thai nationals in its technologies, thus significantly contributing to the local economy.
Thales has been a dedicated partner to Thailand for almost 50 years in industry sectors ranging from defence to air traffic management and ground transportation. Aligning with this vision Thales will henceforth be providing its digital identity and biometrics expertise to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, making the Group their trusted partner as they deliver a highly-secure and modern passport for their citizens.
“I am delighted that Thales has successfully delivered this new generation passport to Thai citizens and helped the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) strengthen homeland protection and safeguard their citizens’ identities. Throughout the last few months amidst the global COVID-19 pandemic, we have continued our close collaboration with MOFA and worked tirelessly to deliver this milestone. Thai citizens now possess one of the world’s most sophisticated e-passports that integrate biometrics and other high-security features that will provide a seamless and secure travel experience. We will continue to build local expertise in passport issuance with training and transfer-of-technology aligned with our commitment to upskilling the Thai workforce as Thailand moves towards a digital future.” Massimo Marinzi, Country Director, Thales in Thailand
About Thales
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global technology leader shaping the world of tomorrow today. The Group provides solutions, services and products to customers in the aeronautics, space, transport, digital identity and security, and defence markets. With 83,000 employees in 68 countries, Thales generated sales of €19 billion in 2019 (on a pro forma basis including Gemalto over 12 months).
Thales is investing in particular in digital innovations — connectivity, Big Data, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity — technologies that support businesses, organisations and governments in their decisive moments.
PLEASE VISIT
Thales Group
Download HD photos
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200806005034/en/
Contact information
Thales, Media relations
Digital Identity & Security
Vanessa Viala
+33 (0) 6 89 73 25 47
vanessa.viala@thalesgroup.com
Thales, South East Asia Communications
Serene Koh
+65 6594 6898
serene.koh@asia.thalesgroup.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Grindr for Equality Commits to Connecting 10M to HIV Prevention by 202827.7.2026 17:31:00 EEST | Press release
Today at the 2026 International AIDS Conference, Grindr for Equality committed to connecting ten million LGBTQ+ people to HIV prevention by 2028, leveraging its platform reach to advance the global effort to end HIV by 2030. The commitment is rooted in Closing the Gap, a new Grindr for Equality report drawing on survey data from Grindr users across ten countries. The central finding is consistent across countries: people know about PrEP but they are not taking it. The barrier is access and the funding that existed to address it is disappearing. "Connecting people is what Grindr does at a scale and in communities that traditional public health systems don't effectively reach," said George Arison, CEO and Chairman of Grindr (NYSE: GRND). "The global HIV response is losing critical funding at the exact moment we should be accelerating to end HIV by 2030. Grindr has the reach and the responsibility to help close that access gap -- and we are proud to step up." Fifteen million people use Gr
InterSystems Launches Data Studio AI Assistant to Accelerate Enterprise Data Exploration and Insights27.7.2026 17:00:00 EEST | Press release
InterSystems, a creative data technology provider powering some of the world's most important applications, today announced the general availability of InterSystems Data Studio™ AI Assistant, a new generative AI-powered extension for InterSystems Data Studio that helps organizations more easily understand, navigate, query, and visualize data through natural language interactions. As organizations move from AI experimentation to production deployments, many are discovering that the greatest challenge is not the AI model itself, but providing AI systems with access to trusted, current, and business-ready information. Enterprise data is often fragmented across applications, databases, cloud services, files, data warehouses, and departmental silos, making it difficult for users and AI systems to generate reliable insights. “Organizations are increasingly looking for ways to turn their data into actionable intelligence without adding complexity,” said Scott Gnau, Senior Vice President, Data
PMI U.S. Opens $1.2 Billion Aurora Campus, Strengthening U.S. Manufacturing and Export Capabilities27.7.2026 15:00:00 EEST | Press release
Philip Morris International Inc.’s (PMI) (NYSE: PM) U.S. businesses (PMI U.S.) today celebrated the opening of its Aurora, Colorado manufacturing campus, a landmark investment representing total capital expenditures of $1.2 billion from 2024-2028. The campus expands the company’s domestic manufacturing capabilities, strengthens supply chain resilience, and positions Aurora as a strategic production and export hub supporting future growth. The site began commercial production in July 2026 and produces ZYN nicotine pouches, joining PMI U.S.’s growing modern nicotine manufacturing network, which includes operations in Owensboro, Kentucky, and Wilson, North Carolina. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260727514086/en/ PMI U.S. Opens $1.2 Billion Aurora Campus, Strengthening U.S. Manufacturing and Export Capabilities Situated on a 148-acre site, the approximately 780,000-square-foot campus is PMI’s first greenfield ma
Tecnotree Strengthens LATAM Growth with New Digital Transformation Contracts Worth USD 8.8 Million27.7.2026 14:20:00 EEST | Press release
Tecnotree, a global leader in AI-native Digital Business Support Systems (BSS) and digital platform solutions, today announced it has secured new digital transformation contracts across Latin America with a combined value of USD 8.8 million, reinforcing the company’s continued commercial momentum and expanding its presence across one of its key strategic growth markets. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260727931342/en/ Tecnotree Strengthens LATAM Growth with New Digital Transformation Contracts Worth USD 8.8 Million Across the engagements, Tecnotree will deploy its AI-native digital platform and B2B Marketplace for enterprises to simplify customer and business operations through intelligent digital engagement, real-time monetization, digital commerce and partner ecosystem management and AI driven marketing and experience management. By providing a unified digital foundation, the platform enables communications
Pure Lithium Corporation Appoints Mercedes-Benz Battery Veteran Dr. Tobias Glossmann as Chief Product Officer27.7.2026 14:00:00 EEST | Press release
Pure Lithium Corporation, a vertically integrated next-generation lithium metal battery company and developer of the patented Brine to Battery™ technology, today announced the appointment of Dr. Tobias Glossmann as Chief Product Officer. In this role, Dr. Glossmann will lead product and technology strategy, guiding the translation of Pure Lithium’s battery science into engineered products and directing the company’s product engineering efforts. Dr. Glossmann joins Pure Lithium after a 25-year career across Mercedes-Benz companies, most recently serving as Principal Systems Engineer at Mercedes-Benz Research & Development North America. His work spanned advanced battery technology development, from materials through complete battery systems, and he held companywide responsibility for high voltage safety. His career began in 2001 with battery systems development at DaimlerChrysler in Ulm, Germany, and later in Michigan, giving him more than two decades of experience across cell chemistry
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom