Lenovo to sell 1 millionth biometric PC

Lenovo, provider of the industry's most secure PCs, will sell its one millionth ThinkPad notebook with an integrated fingerprint reader in January, 2006, making it the largest provider of biometric-enabled PCs in the world.

Lenovo estimates that password resets account for 35-50 per cent of all helpdesk calls. By automating and securing the password reset process through Lenovo's password manager software and integrated fingerprint reader, users can avoid timely and costly support calls.

"Security is critical to our customers, and they rely on Lenovo to deliver innovative, cutting-edge PC solutions," said Peter Hortensius, senior vice president, (notebook business unit), Lenovo.  

ThinkPads with integrated fingerprint readers make security simple, enabling users to access password-protected personal and financial information, web sites, documents and e-mail with a swipe of their finger while protecting data from unauthorized access.

The integrated fingerprint reader is part of a broad set of security tools including Lenovo's Client Security Solution 6.0, which provides security software and an embedded security chip.

"It's very unusual to find a new feature that makes your PC more secure while making it much easier to use," said Hortensius. "The ThinkPad fingerprint reader is popular because it is one of those rare exceptions. By tying strong passwords to your fingerprint, you can make PC security simple and effective in order to protect your customers' data, as well as your own personal information."

Gartner lists a number of advantages to deploying biometric security, noting that:

• Biometric information cannot be lost, stolen or forgotten Organisations can verify users' identities with a high degree of confidence
• Used in conjunction with smart cards, biometrics can provide strong security for (public key infrastructure) credentials held on the card
• Users aren't required to present a card or to remember passwords or personal identification numbers
• Biometric systems eliminate the overheads associated with password management
• Organisations can implement recognition systems, not just simple authentication systems

"We place a huge priority on security and deployed ThinkPad notebooks with fingerprint readers because they were the only notebooks to offer an integrated hardware and software security solution," said Mike Sink, director (infrastructure), Kichler Lighting.

"Lenovo's ThinkPad notebook with integrated fingerprint reader has been an immensely popular tool with our employees while providing a higher level of security and convenience."

Formed by Lenovo Group's acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure, and easy-to-use technology products and services worldwide.

Lenovo has major research centres in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina.