RISKOSOFT Corporation of France has unveiled the first expected-loss management-accounting software solution that combines an assessment of the counterparty’s financial risk management together with an evaluation of the counterparty’s HR-related risk factors. The RISKOSOFT software suite features all the applications required to comply with the new regulations (introduced in the wake of Basel III) regarding financial risks that exist between banks and their counterparties. The latest regulations were set up within the context of the Basel III global regulatory standard, which calls for banks to hold sufficient capital stock in order to cover expected losses (EL) in relation to banks’ counterparties (such as SMEs, large companies and government departments): this is where the software solution developed by RISKOSOFT Corporation is able to play a crucial role. “Our software solution is unique: nothing of the sort has ever existed before,” explains Dr Pascal Lele, head of R&D and partnerships at RISKOSOFT. “This is illustrated by the reporting table generated by RISKOSOFT in relation to the IFRS 7 [standard] for financial communications — an approach that is based on EL accounting.” [To access the RISKOSOFT reporting table, please click here ] Unlike ‘unexpected losses’ (UL), which are revealed through incidents shown in internal databases, ‘expected losses’ (EL) are known because they were revealed by analysing the gaps in data. The Basel II regulatory framework set the tolerance threshold covered by insurance at 20% for operational risks, before including the impact of risk-reduction technique. While competing software packages may operate on the basis of a quantitative approach, using statistics and probabilities, RISKOSOFT software is the only solution to have anticipated the radical changes brought about by Basel III. Its strength is that it makes the link, in real time, between Human Resources data (i.e. social metrics) and Finance functions (i.e. economic metrics) within the entity. Presented under Excel so as to comply with existing transparency and traceability requirements, the software is sold using an Application Service Provider (ASP) model. Customers open their online account on the www.riskosoftcorp.com  website. The system is entirely secure, since no data is transferred by email. The server immediately retrieves the data for processing. Results are sent to the customer’s interface. Users are trained through online videos, and thanks to courses tailored to the needs of SMEs as well as major accounts. Since it focuses on expected losses, RISKOSOFT management-accounting software helps to determine the decision-making interactions as structured by players in the expenditure chain (i.e. CEO/budget organisers, HR/finance management, team leaders, employees and internal audit). The specificity of the Basel III regulatory framework is that it is intended to pre-empt the counterparty risk, i.e. the risk that the counterparty (in a financial transaction) may fail to fulfil its obligations (under the terms of the agreement signed). The regular reporting outcomes generated by the RISKOSOFT software suite are appended to the counterparties’ performance statements. This is done in order to beef up the banks’ quantitative-analysis software programs regarding EL data as well as cost-savings data — the data being essential in order to improve the reliability of the stress tests, as applied to each counterparty. The overall outcome is a better prevention of systemic risk, in line with Basel III requirements. Communications of a financial nature between contracting parties, as defined under Basel III, have been standardized in line with the criteria and constraints set out in the IFRS 7 standard (IFRS 7 — Financial Instruments: Information to be provided). This standard has been integrated into accounting plans, as set out by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and by US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (or US GAAP). For example, the IFRS 7 standard corresponds with Chapter 3862 of Canada’s GAAP. The accounting software suite developed by RISKOSOFT, which is centred on expected losses, relates the pure business metrics (financial data) to the social metrics (HR-related data) in the counterparty’s database: thus, the ongoing reporting flow that is generated enables the bank to adjust, at least once per quarter, the forward-looking provisioning (or prospective provisioning) , as required by Basel III, on the basis of a complete picture of the counterparty’s risk profile and as per the requirements of the IFRS 7 standard. Data that is both qualitative and quantitative in nature is analysed. Qualitative information concerns the counterparty’s three-year growth plan (or productivity plan), which makes it possible to identify the entity’s targets, policies and procedures in relation to risk management. Quantitative information is given periodically in the form of statistical indicators, which provide evidence to the effect that the entity is taking into account (and not exceeding) the EL tolerance threshold over its three-year growth plan (or productivity plan). The periodical report makes it possible to assess the strengthening of the entity’s cash position thanks to cost savings, which, in turn, constitute the entity’s main security. As part of the RISKOSOFT software suite, the functionalities on offer are wide-ranging. First of all, the software program developed by RISKOSOFT processes the data stored in UL-incident data warehouses and the cumulated gaps in performance status (income statements and Profit & Loss, or P&L) in order to calculate Value at Risk (or VaR). Second, the software program calculates the historical threshold and the new loss tolerance threshold determining expected losses (accepted) over the three-year growth plan. Third, the software suite processes bonus compensation, which constitutes the basis of human-resources mobilisation. Fourth, RISKOSOFT’s software solution controls socio-economic indicators, i.e. the levers upon which every employee can act to improve his (or her) contribution to the common result, hence his (or her) bonus compensation. Lastly, the software suite provides prudential reporting, as applied to an overall perspective, taking into account the economic benefits in order to adjust prospective funding (covering exposure). The software also assesses the impact that measures taken to combine productivity and health in the workplace may have on psycho-social risks. About RISKOSOFT Corporation RISKOSOFT Corporation is headquartered in Bordeaux (in south-western France) and specialises in management-accounting software, more particularly in relation to counterparty risk in financial transactions, as covered by Basel III regulations. The RISKOSOFT software suite was originally developed by Dr Pascal Lele, who is, today, in charge of R&D and partnerships at the company. For further information, please go to: http://www.riskosoftcorp.com/  

The inaugural CARTES in North America trade show took place from 5 to 7 March 2012 in Las Vegas (USA). The smart-technology event welcomed nearly 2,000 visitors from 54 countries, and boasted a sold-out roster of 120 exhibitors. During the event, alongside an array of round tables and conferences, the conclusions of significant studies into mobile payments were released by the Smart Payment Association and by Ipsos. VDC Research Group’s blog post described CARTES in North America as “an interesting, informative and well-attended event”. Isabelle Alfanso, Event Director of CARTES in North America, explains, “Given the response by attendees to our conference sessions and range of technologies highlighted by our exhibitors, it is clear that the North American market remains a driving force in the global deployment for smart technologies including mobile payment, NFC [or Near Field Communication] and IT security. We look forward to expanding the event in 2013 and to bringing participants the latest insights from the leading smart-technologies authorities.” The first CARTES in North America trade show, which took place at the beginning of March of this year in Las Vegas (in the US state of Nevada), proved a success, thanks to the large number of exhibitors and visitors: 120 companies were represented, and there were close to 2,000 visitors from over 50 countries. Duri ng the trade fair, the Smart Payment Association, based in Munich (Germany), announced that the number of EMV-payment cards shipped worldwide passed the one billion mark in 2011. (EMV stands for Europay-MasterCard-VISA and constitutes a global standard for integrated-circuit cards, or chip cards.) Global market-research company Ipsos released research on consumer sentiment surrounding mobile payments in the USA and Canada. Ipsos also announced plans for a major study, due to take place in the near future, on consumer readiness and interest in North America.   In total, more than 20 exhibitors issued announcements on new products or services at the trade show, and this information is now available on the CARTES News Site. With the Americas gearing up for EMV and NFC implementations in the coming year and beyond, participants gathered to discuss the issues driving these markets within the 70 conference sessions that were held at CARTES in North America. Topics discussed also included research on payment-card shipments, consumer demand for mobile payments, and original solutions and services from technology providers. In March 2012, COMEXPOSIUM also organised CARTES in Asia, which took place in Hong Kong (from 28 to 29 March). The CARTES 2012 Exhibition and Conference will take place in Paris (France) from 6 to 8 November 2012. Finally, CARTES in North America 2013 will be held in Las Vegas at some stage in the first half of next year. About CARTES The CARTES network is made up of the leading international and regional exhibitions and conferences devoted to smart technologies. It was founded in Paris (France) in 1985 and has grown to become one of the world’s leading events on security and payments, gathering 450 exhibitors and 20,000 visitors from 142 countries. Since 2010, CARTES exhibitions and conferences have taken place in Asia and are now being introduced in North America. CARTES events are organised by COMEXPOSIUM, the leading French-based professional trade-show organiser that offers a high level of service and premium quality standards for both exhibitors and visitors. For further information about COMEXPOSIUM, please go to: http://en.comexposium.com    For the CARTES in North America News Site, please go to: http://www.cartes-northamerica.com/Newsroom/Video    For further information on CARTES in North America, please go to: www.cartes-northamerica.com

Netwave of France will showcase WebSAles Booster, the innovative technology it has developed to boost sales on e-commerce websites, at Internet World 2012, the trade show of reference for internet technologies. Internet World 2012 takes place from 24 to 26 April in London (UK). WebSAles Booster, developed by Netwave over a 10-year period, represents a new concept and a unique solution in the e-commerce marketplace. Thanks to its inductive situational analysis processor, which enables it to anticipate the expectations and to understand the behaviour of virtual visitors, WebSAles Booster succeeds in raising the conversion rate for e-commerce websites (from passive surfer to active shopper). Netwave will showcase WebSAles Booster at Internet World 2012, between 24 and 26 April of this year, at Earl’s Court, in London. The development of WebSAles Booster by French company Netwave has stemmed from a stark statistic, which is that 96% of visitors, on average, leave e-commerce websites without buying anything, compared with 45% of visitors who enter a shop in the high street. In other words, only 4% of potential online customers make a purchase of any kind. What solution can be found to raise the proportion of e-consumers who actually buy goods and services on line? How can a visitor’s expectations be understood and his (or her) attention caught? How, as a result, can the conversion rate be increased? WebSAles Booster has the answers. WebSAles Booster improves the commercial efficiency of online sales operations: among the visitors exposed to WebSAles Booster’s recommendations, a rise in the conversion rate of up to 115% occurs, with the value of the basket of goods (or services) purchased going up by 26% on average. (This applies to medium-size websites in France that sell electronic goods.) On an e-commerce site where the opportunity to interact with the potential client is a matter of a few seconds, WebSAles Booster provides an exclusive capacity for one-to-one real-time interaction. Without the need for modelling preferred-recommendation scenarios or for human intervention, WebSAles Booster adjusts and tailors its recommendations automatically. Each surfer’s behaviour is induced by the situation in which he (or she) finds himself (or herself) at a given time. WebSAles Booster can identify, in a few seconds, the expectations that are specific to each online visitor: it is thus able, during the time spent on line by the visitor, to establish what product (or service) corresponds best with his (or her) expectations. This is done on a one-to-one basis, and leads the system to recommend the best product (or service) for the visitor. Thanks to its inductive situational analysis processor, WebSAles Booster is able to understand the situation in which each surfer finds himself (or herself) on the basis of weak signals, as they are known in the high-tech field. WebSAles Booster can also infer expectations on the part of the surfer, based on the virtual visitor’s behaviour. With WebSAles Booster, the recommendation engines, encapsulating inductive algorithms, define the product (or service) which is best adapted to the visitor’s expectations, and rely on what works best at a given moment, while always operating in real time. WebSAles Booster’s artificial learning mechanisms enable it to constantly improve the relevance of its recommendations, always in real time. This capacity to observe, understand, decide, intervene and self-improve during the surfer’s navigation is the key technological challenge that WebSAles Booster has risen to. WebSAles Booster achieves all this without storing or structuring data, since the technology works directly on the flow of data that is captured on the website in real time. WebSAles Booster avoids investing in costly data-warehousing and data-management projects. WebSAles Booster saves computer resources; it can be installed and configured in less than two weeks, without the need for an interface with the e-commerce site. Since it works on the flow of data issued by javascripts, WebSAles Booster does not necessitate a heavy infrastructure (based on the capture, storage and structuring of data). WebSAles Booster also saves marketing resources: it avoids having to conceive and maintain a plethora of models and scenarios. Real-time marketing is fast becoming a necessity for all businesses: it already is one for companies operating in digital distribution. WebSAles Booster delivers the solutions that so many e-players are looking for. About Netwave Netwave is based in the département of Haute-Garonne, in South-Western France. Netwave won the prize for innovation in technology with the launch of its WebSAles Booster solution, at the 2011 e-commerce trade show. Netwave will be at the Internet World trade show (stand E1090), in Earl’s Court, in Central London (UK), between 24 and 26 April 2012. For further information about the trade show, please go to: http://www.internetworld.co.uk/ For further information about the company, please go to:   www.netwave.eu

For the fourth consecutive year, the Trade Commission of the French Embassy in the UK will showcase innovative companies from the internet and digital-technology sectors on the French Pavilion at the Internet World trade show, to be held in London from 24 to 26 April 2012.   Internet World is Europe’s leading trade event in areas such as connectivity, hosting, e-commerce/m-commerce and social media. The French Pavilion (Stand E1090, at Earl’s Court 2, in Central London) will offer a unique environment in which company representatives can discover new products and find potential clients and business partners. For the fourth year in a row, the French Trade Commission in London organises the French national pavilion at the trade fair, between 24 and 26 April of this year. The four exhibiting companies will showcase a range of innovative products from the internet and digital-technology sectors. These companies are aiming to reinforce their professional contacts and explore new business opportunities between France and the UK. Internet World, now in its 20th year, is the trade show of reference in the UK (and across Europe) for online business, from digital and mobile marketing to connectivity and hosting, and from e-commerce and m-commerce to social media and content management. Companies on the French stand are listed below; further information about the exhibitors is available on request. The EYES© environment represents visual information and knowledge software that utilise various model representations involving mapping as well as dynamic and multi-criteria research tools. EYES© offers a creative and powerful alternative to ‘classical’ data mining: it constitutes, in the words of the company, an Intelligent Visual Mining tool.   In its current form, EYES© has considerable potential and opens up major industrial perspectives. www.atonis.com Compario Compario is a leading provider of Cloud-based e-commerce software that converts a higher proportion of online surfers into active (and actual) shoppers. The company’s technology helps to create and preserve customer loyalty, since its software assists customers effectively, enabling them to make the right choices. Compario’s software suite enables business users to quickly and efficiently deliver a superior buyer experience, through a combination of robust catalogue management, easy integration with back-office systems, powerful search technology, dynamic navigation tools, and user-friendly merchandising dashboards (adapted to business users). www.compario.com LeGuide.com Group LeGuide.com Group, an operator of online shopping guides, comparison websites, shopping search engines and platforms for consumer ratings, recently reached a total audience of 31.8 million unique visitors. With, by the end of 2011, a team of 107 employees, LeGuide.com is present in 14 European countries through a multi-site strategy built around a brand portfolio that includes leguide.com, Ciao, dooyoo.com, mercamania.com and antag.com. The group lists 164 million offers from 74,500 e-merchants and surpasses 3.5 million members, while featuring over 8 million consumer reviews. LeGuide.com Group generated €28.2 million in revenue in its 2011 financial year. www.ciao.co.uk Netwave Netwave edits Websales Booster, which won the E-Commerce Innovation Award in 2011. Websales Booster is a personalized product-recommendation engine that makes it possible to increase the conversion rate of the average commercial website (i.e. ensure that a higher proportion of web surfers turn into active e-shoppers). Additionally, Websales Booster improves the online navigation experience of internet users. Websales Booster represents a step-change in the world of e-commerce solutions, based as it is on real-time situational analysis and inductive reasoning. Websales Booster constitutes a unique technological, technical and functional solution. www.netwave.eu About the Trade Commission of the French Embassy in the UK The Trade Commission of the French Embassy in London promotes trade development between France and the UK by offering a range of services to French-based companies. The New Technologies Department organises B2B events in the form of conferences and networking opportunities, mainly in London. The Internet World trade show will take place at Earl’s Court in Central London (UK) from 24 to 26 April 2012, between 9.30am and 5.00pm. (On the last day, the trade show closes at 4.00pm.) The French Pavilion can be found at Stand E1090 (Earl’s Court 2). For further information, please contact the Trade Commission in London directly, i.e. Ms Katherine Woods, Press Officer, or Mrs Teresa Marshall, Trade Development Adviser (see below). Mrs Teresa Marshall Trade Development Adviser New Technologies Department French Trade Commission UBIFRANCE in the UK Telephone (direct line): (00) (44) (0)207-024-3644 Email: teresa.marshall@ubifrance.fr   Website: http://www.ubifrance.com/uk/ Atonis

With the Pôle Images high-tech cluster for the imaging industry, and with its network of companies, R&D institutions and specialist schools, the Lille region has become an international magnet for digital design and creativity across Europe, whose reputation is established as far afield as India.  Mobile-phone applications, special effects, video games, touchpads, 3D animation, serious games — digital design is all around us. The French touch is recognised and valued worldwide in this field, as it reflects unique expertise and creativity across the digital-design industry. And it is the Lille region that is home to a number of outstanding innovators, who have attracted international attention.  Lille and its surrounding region stand out in terms of digital design thanks to the state-of-the-art training programmes that are on offer across Northern France. The region also has facilities for companies in the industry, while the sector’s dynamic growth is reflected in the development of Pôle Images, a dedicated high-tech cluster. Various schools located in the region, which are recognised for their excellence as far afield as India, have underpinned the sector’s growth in the Lille region. Supinfocom, Supinfogame and L’Institut Supérieur du Design (the Higher Institute for Design), all located in the Lille region, are international references in the digital sector and constitute the Supinfogroup. These schools are currently training 1,200 students in animation, video games and industrial design. Upon finishing their studies, the young professionals are immediately snapped up by major animation studios (such as PIXAR and DREAMWORKS) or by games companies of international repute (such as GAMELOFT, UBISOFT and HYDRAVISION). Supinfogroup’s reputation now stretches as far as India, where the group of schools has been selected by private investors in order to set up a campus dedicated to multimedia technology and video games at Pune (near Mumbai). The investors were particularly impressed by the quality of the films presented by the students and by the prizes that they have won at several international festivals. Built and financed by an Indian real-estate magnate, the brand-new campus already welcomes 350 students. Billed as the Oxford of South Asia, Pune attracts students from across the world — a resounding endorsement of Supinfogroup’s expertise and excellence. The ambitions of the Lille region, however, are not limited to training the elite of the digital-design industry: Northern France also intends to develop highly innovative projects across a region that is blessed with exceptional sites for this very purpose. The Plaine Images business park aims to promote the development of a world-class centre of excellence dedicated to imaging technology, and to support the convergence of expertise, businesses, screens and formats that characterize the sector. Today, Plaine Images concentrates 50 companies employing 1,000 staff. Housed in a group of buildings, on a five-hectare former industrial site, which have been restored to the highest standards, Plaine Images promotes the development of its on-site businesses and the synergies that exist between the various sectors within the imaging industry. In order to create dynamic links between artistic projects, companies and research laboratories, Plaine Images is home to a business incubator. One of the most notable and newest ventures on the site is the Imaginarium, a platform where businesses, artists, training entities as well as R&D teams can meet and collaborate to boost their creativity and generate new content. At the end of 2012, the Imaginarium will become home to a research-innovation-development space that will be unique in France and, in fact, in Europe. The Imaginarium is backed by the University of Lille and by CNRS (France’s National Centre for Scientific Research) and will concentrate on visual studies. It will provide state-of-the-art equipment such as a virtual-visit platform, a perception/action laboratory, and various workshops for artistic experimentation. For its part, the Serre Numérique (literally, the Digital Greenhouse) is set occupy 15,000m² in Valenciennes. In September 2013, the schools in the Supinfogroup will move to the Serre Numérique, which is structured around a simple idea — “Digital design in all its forms”. The Serre Numérique will bring together business leaders, entrepreneurs, designers, researchers, teachers, students and artists with the aim of embracing every area of digital design, from video games, animation and virtual worlds to industrial simulation, urban design, product design, 3D, and many more. Serre Numérique, more particularly, intends to focus on the segment known as serious games. It will be a unique venue, where training, funding and research will combine to create a stimulating environment for carrying out projects with high added value. The Pôle Images is the backbone of the digital cluster that the Lille region has turned into in the past decade or so. The Pôle Images cluster of excellence comprises 120 companies, 27 specialist training centres and schools, 22 R&D bodies, and nine professional associations. The cluster’s role is to stimulate growth in the sector by facilitating partnerships between businesses, training centres and researchers who operate in the field of imaging. Pôle Images is also developing a European perspective on the sector, by establishing cross-border links with similar clusters in other European countries, as well as encouraging synergies for generating creative content.   About Nord France Invest Nord France Invest is the publicly funded investment-promotion agency for the city of Lille and its region. The agency helps to develop businesses and assists them in making the most out of their move to Northern France. Drawing on expertise across a wide range of fields, Nord France Invest and its network partners offer personalised and fully confidential services to investors, free of charge, from the initial decision through to the launch and follow-up. In pursuing these aims, Nord France Invest draws on the skills of its own staff, combined with expert input from an extensive network of regional and international partners. Nord France Invest has issued this press release. Nord France Invest can be contacted directly on nfinvest@nfinvest.fr . For further information, please go to: www.nordfranceinvest.fr

Conscio Technologies of France, the developer of IT-security awareness programme Sensiwave, opened its London office in October 2011. Having enjoyed sustained growth since 2007 in the French market, Conscio now plans to sell Sensiwave, its flagship software suite available in SaaS mode, on the British market and beyond. A major contract has been signed with a UK-based oil group already. Conscio will be at the Infosecurity trade show in Central London from 24 to 26 April 2012. Conscio Technologies has been able to capitalize on its brand name and on the quality of Sensiwave, its unique solution, which has resulted in the signature of a major contract with a large oil group in the UK. Sensiwave is an innovative, interactive and flexible software suite that facilitates the implementation of in-house awareness-raising campaigns within client entities. Conscio Technologies intends to build on this initial success in the British market, as Michel Gérard, CEO of Conscio Technologies, explains: “The United Kingdom offers real opportunities for our international development, as much from the point of view of the British market itself as for possibilities of international expansion from here.” Alexandre Gras, Business Development Manager of Conscio Technologies in the UK, adds: “It is a real opportunity for us to be able to offer Sensiwave on the British market. In fact, thanks to our 100% adaptable solution, Sensiwave offers genuine perspectives in terms of the development of a strong in-house culture of total security [in the client entity] and, more than ever, we are committed to an approach of permanent improvement.”   Conscio Technologies will be on the French Pavilion (Stand K-75) at the Infosecurity 2012 trade show, due to take place at the Earl’s Court exhibition centre, in London (UK), between 24 and 26 April.   On the strength of its attractive subscription price — £5,700 for one year and for one administrator, excluding taxes and including the cost of integrating security contents — a host of organisations have already chosen Sensiwave for their in-house communications. Besides, Conscio Technologies offers 30 days’ free trial of its platform to help clients familiarise themselves with a new approach to in-house awareness campaigns.   Companies that use the solutions developed by Conscio Technologies include, among many others, Société Générale, BNP Paribas, Natixis, AXA, GDF Suez and Michelin.   Already present at Infosecurity in 2011, Conscio Technologies has decided to continue its expansion beyond the confines of its home market, and to attend Infosecurity 2012 in April. The London-based subsidiary of Conscio Technologies is its first international office: from the UK, the specialist company intends to build on its success in order to expand across Britain and beyond, in the rest of Europe as well as in the Middle East.   Sensiwave is a solution, available in SaaS mode, which enables business users to optimise internal communication (within the client entity). Sensiwave also raises awareness, among the company’s employees, of IT-security issues, thus helping to develop a corporate culture where security is never neglected. Beyond the issue of security, Sensiwave can assist in the management of change within the client entity: it helps with large-scale internal communication focused on change management (setting up new internal policies, preparing for relocation, etc.).   The platform developed by Conscio Technologies takes over the management of users and content, the creation of interfaces and communication portals, the uploading of material for the internal campaigns (aimed at the client entity’s staff), and the extraction of statistical data (individual and collective) regarding the awareness campaigns that have been deployed already.   To achieve all of this, Sensiwave puts at the disposal of corporate users a wide range of tools to help them create and improve awareness-raising campaigns. Those tools include 3D sketches (already available in the format of 3D animation films); quizzes to assess users’ knowledge of the subjects covered; surveys and in-house studies aimed at testing the state of mind of employees in relation to the issues covered; and, finally, many other third-party aids that can be incorporated (videos, PDF files, PPT files, internal media, photo albums, etc.).   By subscribing to the highly advanced tool that Sensiwave is, companies are able to put in place generic contents dedicated to IT security, with over 100 3D sketches offering a large range of scenarios and more than 100 quiz questions, which are 100% modifiable. As a result, Sensiwave can easily be adapted to the requirements and the activity of the client company.   The Sensiwave tools are integrated via web portals specifically created for the deployment of a specific awareness campaign. The subjects covered touch upon all the various themes that are central to IT security, such as passwords, viruses, messaging, phishing, social engineering, social networks, data protection, home IT security, and many more.   About Conscio Technologies Conscio Technologies is based in Paris (France) and London (UK). The company was founded in 2007 by Michel Gérard and Fabrice Frade, together with Grant & Partners, a Belgian investment fund. Conscio Technologies has developed Sensiwave, which is an innovative, interactive and flexible software solution facilitating the implementation of in-house awareness-raising campaigns within client entities. The company has been growing steadily, approaching a turnover of €500,000 in 2011. Conscio Technologies’ clients number over 50 and range from SMEs to large multinational groups, in an array of sectors. Conscio Technologies will be at the Infosecurity trade show at Earl’s Court, in London (UK), between 24 and 26 April 2012. The company will be on the French Pavilion (Stand K-75).   For further information about the trade show, please go to:   http://www.infosec.co.uk/   For further information about the company, please go to: www.conscio-technologies.com

Natural Security, a pioneering provider of powerful authentication technology, is unveiling the first payment and ID application it has developed at trade shows CARTES North America in Las Vegas and CARTES Asia in Hong Kong, in March 2012. Natural Security’s solution is based on biometric recognition and a secure-technology element, combining privacy with user-friendliness. Cédric Hozanne, CEO of French company Natural Security, explains, “New technology, particularly when used for verification purposes, is often understandably met with wariness from those both inside and outside the industry. Personal data is a sensitive area: however, using biometrics the Natural Security way is much more secure and less intrusive than people assume.” “We strive to be synonymous with convenience, speed and security for service providers, banks and retailers, while at the same time guaranteeing the protection and privacy of personal data for end-users. Our partnership with contactless-technology specialist TazTag makes accepting contactless payments with biometric authorisation simple and fast for retailers to install and use. We hope it will initiate the next generation of in-store interactive services and new payment options for customers,” continues Cédric Hozanne. Natural Security will present its innovative solution at the CARTES North America and CARTES Asia trade shows in March of this year: CARTES North America takes place from 5 to 7 March in Las Vegas (USA) and CARTES Asia takes place in Hong Kong from 28 to 29 March. As developed by Natural Security, the use of biometrics enables authentication that is based on two key components: identification that is unique to the individual, on the one hand, and a smartcard, secure digital (SD) card, or alternative card, which is in the user’s possession at the time of the transaction, on the other. The mid-range contactless-enabled device means the simple act of placing a finger on a reader is all that is required for the authentication process. This negates the need to memorise a PIN, making it both simpler and faster to conduct transactions. Because Natural Security relies on contactless technology, it spares users the need to handle the device, thereby optimising the entire authentication process. The authentication data stored on Natural Security’s device is unique to the user, so that a transaction can only take place when both the user and device are present. This technology ensures the device cannot be used by anyone else in case of loss or theft. There is also no central database of biometric information and no way of tracing the cards or the data stored on them, which makes the whole system very secure. Natural Security is a founding member of the Biometrics Alliance Initiative, a working collective of those involved in the biometric-technology sector, such as users, banks, retailers, integrators, academics and certifying bodies.   The initiative was launched in 2011 jointly to accelerate the progress of biometric technology and to quash previous doubts associated with biometric-payment security and access control. It also aims to develop a systematic approach to biometric-technology certification, guaranteeing levels of security and usability, particularly in the banking and payment-processing sectors. Having launched the Natural Security Community in February 2012, Natural Security further demonstrates its commitment to becoming an educator and enabler for a technological shift to strong authentication processes. The community is the first of its kind in the payments and security industry; it constitutes a specific forum for discussion on topics surrounding biometry and authentication, which feeds into the Natural Security ecosystem. About Natural Security Founded in 2006 and headquartered in Lille (Northern France), Natural Security is a provider of powerful authentication technology. The company has launched an authentication solution that is based on biometric recognition and a secure-technology element. This solution combines privacy and user-friendliness. Natural Security will be present at CARTES North America from 5 to 7 March in Las Vegas, in Nevada (USA). The company will also exhibit at CARTES Asia in Hong Kong from 28 to 29 March 2012. For further information about CARTES North America, please go to: http://www.cartes-northamerica.com/    For further information about CARTES Asia, please go to: http://www.cartes-asia.com/    For further information about Natural Security, please go to: www.naturalsecurity-news.com