Government Agencies to Preserve Investment and Achieve Compliance with New Specifications

FREMONT, Calif., March 2, 2005 – ActivCard Corp. (Nasdaq: ACTI), a global provider of identity assurance solutions for secure remote access, single sign-on, enterprise access cards, and multi-channel identification and verification, today announced its planned support of the US Government’s Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and Federal Information Processing Standards 201 (FIPS 201). HSPD-12 is a directive from the US President mandating a common identification standard for all federal government agency employees and contractors. FIPS 201 is a new standard released by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

ActivCard is extending its industry leading government smart card issuance, management, and usage software and technology to support the new FIPS 201 standard, released on February 25, 2005. ActivCard has been selected as the provider of smart card-based identity solutions by more government agencies than any other provider, including deployments with the Department of Defense and the Department of Interior. ActivCard is continuing its strategy of providing open platform support. In September 2004, it announced an open license to the complete interface specification of its market-leading Smart Card ID Applets Suite.

“ActivCard is the market-share leader in smart card based identity solutions for the government market and we remain committed to our customers and their needs to comply with HSPD-12 and FIPS 201,” said Ben. C. Barnes, Chief Executive Officer of ActivCard. “Over the past several months, we have provided specifications to NIST to contribute our expertise to the development of this standard. We are pleased to be lending our expertise because we see the importance of this directive in improving the country’s homeland security.”

ActivCard’s complete smart card system will provide FIPS 201 certified applets, card management and client software based on open standards. System integrators and government clients can integrate the ActivCard products with other functional components to provide a complete HSPD 12 solution, including:

• Identity management and provisioning
• Identity verification and proofing
• Physical security integration
• Government certified shared service provider PKI
• Certificate validation
• Biometrics

ActivCard is aligning with the leaders in the industry to provide these capabilities including:

Corestreet, a l eading provider of validation solutions for identity management and access control: "During the last 18 months the Department of Defense has had a CoreStreet solution for validation up and running in support of their Common Access Card program, which is one of the largest of its kind in the world," said Peter Hussey, CEO of CoreStreet.  "With that track record of performance for the CoreStreet solution, agency executives can be assured that their validation solution is fully FIPS 201 compliant, and that as part of a total solution with ActivCard and our other partners here, it will meet their needs regardless of the size or global reach of their organization.  In fact, because of the design and architecture of CoreStreet's validation solution, we're able to utilize public networks, which reduces initial and recurring costs and speeds implementation.  This should be especially helpful as their programs are expanded to cover their contractors and others engaged with but not actually employees of their agencies."  

Cybertrust, a global provider of information security products and services: “We look forward to working with ActivCard as federal agencies address the requirements imposed by HSPD-12 and FIPS-201,” said Kerry T. Bailey, Cybertrust’s Senior Vice President of Global Services. “Federal agencies need experienced providers to meet the timelines specified by the Presidential directive. Cybertrust and ActivCard have demonstrated such capabilities during the course of the first production smart card deployment under GSA’s Shared Service Provider program.”

Lenel Systems International, a global Total Security Knowledge Management Solution TM provider for government and industrial markets : “We are pleased to be working with ActivCard on this HSPD-12/FIPS 201 implementation,” said Rudy Prokupets, Chief Technology Officer and Executive Vice President of Research and Development for Lenel Systems International. “Lenel has been a leader in implementing a total security solution that conforms to the latest government standards. This new offering expands our existing OnGuard solution to facilitate access to the logical security domain in addition to the physical security domain.”

Viisage (Nasdaq: VISG), a l eading provider of advanced technology identity solutions : “We are pleased to be part of ActivCard’s initiative designed to address the critical mandates of HSPD-12,” said Bernard Bailey, president and CEO of Viisage. “Viisage and ActivCard have worked together in other ground-breaking projects, including the Department of Defense’s Common Access Card program. This, combined with Viisage’s experience in delivering other secure, advanced technology identity solutions, including Viisage PROOF™, offers significant value to the overall program.”

For more information

ActivCard has published a white paper regarding HSPD-12, discussing technology and deployment considerations for government agencies. This white paper is available on ActivCard’s website at www.activcard.com.

About ActivCard

ActivCard is a global provider of identity assurance solutions that, when integrated into an identity management system, allow customers to issue, use and manage trusted digital identities. ActivCard's solutions include secure remote access, single sign-on, enterprise access cards, and multi-channel identification and verification. Globally, over seven million users at corporations, government agencies, and financial institutions use ActivCard solutions to safely and efficiently interact electronically. Headquartered in Fremont, Calif., ActivCard has development centers in the US, France, and the United Kingdom and sales and service centers in more than nine countries. For more information, visit www.activcard.com.

The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks identified in our periodic filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including, but not limited to, those appearing under the caption "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of these filings are available from ActivCard and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. ActivCard disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

ActivCard is a registered trademark and Return on Identity is a trademark of ActivCard in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners in the United States and/or other countries.

ActivCard Contact:
Robin Schultz
ActivCard Corp.
+1 510-745-6221
rschultz@activcard.com