2023-08-29 00:00 eDO App expands to include biometric identity confirmation

PWPW has deployed state-of-the-art, certified biometric technology to protect against presentation attacks. In a single user session, it verifies that an electronically layered document is genuine and valid, confirms viability using a three-dimensional image of the face and verifies the image match with 99.99995% accuracy.

Until now, a four-digit PIN, assigned when collecting an identity card at the Registry Office, had to be entered to confirm identity on the app. The new solution comes to the rescue when the PIN number has not been assigned or when it is not remembered, as well as for passport holders who do not have PINs at all.

After selecting the e-card or passport and the eDO App as the means of confirming identity on a service provider's website, such as a bank, we launch the app and scan the QR code or copy the corresponding number. The eDO App then takes us to a screen for selecting the confirmation method and, in addition to the PIN number, displays biometrics using the e-card or passport. We choose one of these, enter the CAN number from the e-card or scan the MRZ area from the passport (at the bottom of the photo page), apply the document to the smartphone's NFC antenna and, after the data transfer, the front camera is activated. We see our face on the screen and the app corrects its positioning. We confirm readiness and then the app creates a 3D encrypted scan of your face. When everything matches, the verification is successful.

- We created the eDO App to provide holders of digitally layered documents with the most secure and fast way of confirming their identity, paving the way for many commercial and public services. The introduction of facial biometrics is the next step in the development of the app and increasing convenience for the user," said Konrad Jaczewski, Director of PWPW's Digital Solutions Division.

A new method of confirming identity can already be used by mBank CompanyNet corporate banking customers. With the solution, the user gains full access to the system or, as a customer proxy, can update his or her personal data with the bank.

- One of the critical responsibilities a bank has when opening an account or using a new product is to verify the identity of the customer representative. While this is a relatively minor challenge in the traditional product launch process, where an account manager meets the customer face-to-face, in the case of digital customer onboarding it is a non-trivial topic, said Dariusz Nalepa, head of transactional banking at mBank. - Adding the eDO App as another remote verification option is an extremely important piece of this complex puzzle. In particular, the addition of remote passport verification has added a lot of value to the customer identification process. Until now, it has been quite a challenge for the bank to confirm the identity of people residing outside of Poland. With the implementation of identity confirmation using an electronically layered passport and facial biometrics we can perform this process for new groups of customers," he added.

The biometric proof of identity at mBank requires an e-card with an electronic layer. The existing document can be exchanged for an e-card free of charge and this can also be done if the first one has not expired. The new verification method can also be used by holders of biometric passports from more than 130 countries, including Poland.

mBank is not the only financial institution to offer identity confirmation using the eDO App. The PIN-based solution is currently available to customers of Santander bank and PKO Bank Polski, factoring provider Monevia and insurance companies Allianz, Uniqa and many others.

2023-08-02 14:00 Tribute paid to the insurgents who captured the PWPW building 79 years ago

Celebrations of successive anniversaries of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising at the headquarters of the Polish Security Printing Works are always accompanied by a unique atmosphere. This is thanks to the place itself, which played an important role in the functioning of the Polish Underground State throughout the occupation.

"On the premises of the PWPW, the clandestine Banknote Production Department PWB/17/S operated for four years, producing forged documents and banknotes for use by Underground Poland. On the second day of the Uprising, the huge reinforced concrete complex of PWPW's buildings was captured from the inside, becoming the northernmost outpost of the Old Town occupied by the insurgents, constantly shelled, and bombarded by the Germans" - Piotr Ciompa, CEO of the PWPW, recalled during the anniversary celebrations.

However, during the uprising itself, the PWPW also performed several other important functions as a shelter for civilians, an incendiary bottle factory, a food warehouse and a hospital, whose patients and staff, led by Dr Hanna Petrynowska, pseudonym Rana, were brutally murdered by the occupiers after the fall of the redoubt.

"The heroic struggle of the insurgents and the death of many of them had a profound meaning - they wanted to live with dignity in their own independent state. Their attitude is a model of Polish patriotism and when we remember them today, at the same time we feel the burden of great responsibility for the fate of the Homeland and its successful future," said Mariusz Kamiński, Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration, the ministry overseeing the PWPW.

The insurgents defended universal values, which also today, after almost eight decades since the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising, still need to be protected and sometimes also require a tribute of blood, as Małgorzata Gosiewska, Deputy Speaker of the Polish Parliament, reminded.

"At this very moment, when we are honouring the memory of the heroes of the Polish capital, Russian bombs and missiles are hitting Ukrainian schools, apartment blocks, hospitals. The struggle between good and evil continues, and we cannot remain passive or indifferent to this fact," - emphasised the Polish parliamentarian.

The celebrations of the anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Uprising and the battles for the PWPW Redoubt traditionally also have a theme. This year, the figure of Major Mieczysław Chyżyński, alias Pełka, founder and commander of PWB/17/S group and commander of the approximately 600-strong insurgent crew defending the Old Town fortress in August 1944, was commemorated.

"Major Chyżyński, like all the other heroes of the Rising, had the peculiar gene of freedom written in his DNA. We are a proud and chivalrous nation, a nation that values independence and freedom above all else," - remarked Jan Józef Kasprzyk, Head of the Office for War Veterans and Victims of Repression.

He recalled that soldiers from all social groups and political backgrounds, from socialists and Piłsudskiites to peasants and nationalists, fought on the insurgent barricades.

"This is the most important lesson for us, that in moments of trial, when our independence is once again threatened, we should be able to put aside current disputes. This is what the Polish raison d'état requires of us, this is what the memory of the Warsaw insurgents teaches us" - explained the head of the Veteran Office.

The last but the most important element of the anniversary celebrations at the PWPW headquarters was the opportunity to meet the insurgents still alive - the last defenders of the PWPW Redoubt. As in previous years, this year's ceremony was attended by Captain Juliusz Kulesza, the last surviving soldier from PWB/17/S group.

Jan Józef Kasprzyk decorated the hero with the Pro Bono Poloniae medal, in recognition of his special merits in spreading knowledge about the history of the independence struggle, fostering patriotic attitudes in Polish society and popularising knowledge of the freedom traditions abroad.

"Friendship between people is natural, but I have an unusual friendship with an institution like the Polish Security Printing Works. I am referring to my participation and that of many of my colleagues in its defence, but also to the fact that my parents worked here before the war. So, you could say that without the PWPW I would not be in this world at all," - Captain Kulesza said.

2023-07-04 00:00 Further investment to improve Poland's security - PWPW and TZF Polfa sign a contract worth PLN 143 million

During a conference at the headquarters of the Polish Security Printing Works, the head of the MIAA stressed that this is one of the largest transactions that has taken place in recent years. “We are launching a new strategic investment for the Polish state and its citizens. In this way we protect the next generations of Poles, so that every citizen can have certainty of access to the Polish currency, to cash. We are living in difficult times. Hacking attacks or technical interruptions cannot undermine this certainty," he added.

Minister Mariusz Kaminski also pointed out that today's event is another step towards strengthening the security of our country. He added that the signing of the contract between the two state-owned companies was a guarantee of stable access to cash for Poles and an assurance of drug safety. “I would like to thank the President of PWPW and the President of Polfa Tarchomin, but also the Ministry of State Assets for their excellent, reliable cooperation in the implementation of this contract” - concluded the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration.

In turn, the deputy minister of state assets said that Polfa Tarchomin will use the funds from the land sale to complete the construction of a plant manufacturing oncology drugs. “Polfa Tarchomin secures the needs of Poles in terms of medicines. For its 200th anniversary Poland's largest producer of antibiotics, Poland's first producer of insulin - is finalising the construction of an oncology drugs factory. The first such drugs factory in Poland and the most modern in our part of Europe, or actually the Centre for Development and Production of Oncological Drugs, is being built in Tarchomin, Warsaw, and is nearing completion, the Deputy Minister of State Assets stressed.

The briefing was also attended by Piotr Ciompa, CEO of PWPW, and Jarosław Król, CEO of TZF Polfa S.A.

Contract between PWPW S.A. and TZF Polfa S.A.

For PWPW, the purchase of a plot of land in Warsaw's Tarchomin is the implementation of a long-term strategic plan and a need resulting from the limitations of the plant's current location in the Nowe Miasto in Warsaw. The company's current premises already use 100 per cent of its office, production, and warehousing space. In addition, the almost 100-year-old buildings tend to be a barrier to the introduction of modern production equipment and involve the need to demolish external walls and rebuild them after the installation of machinery. Added to this is the lack of expansion possibilities and limited redevelopment opportunities due to conservation requirements. Not without significance is also the fact that PWPW's paper and printing production is located in the city centre, which increases production costs and entails serious logistical difficulties.

For TZF Polfa S.A, the sale of the plot of land, which is not used by the company, will allow it to pursue its main goal of producing oncology drugs. Polfa is strongly betting on the manufacturing of anticancer drugs used, among others, in the treatment of breast cancer, acute leukaemia or multiple myeloma, as well as injectable antibiotics and other highly active drugs used in the treatment of fungal diseases, in rheumatology and in anaesthesiology. The transaction will make it possible to complete the construction of the largest plant producing these types of drugs in Poland and our part of Europe. The target production capacity of both lines is more than 20 million vials and 6 million ampoules per year.

By the end of the year, TZF Polfa plans to obtain the occupancy permit for the new factory. The production of the ordered modern machines that are to constitute the production equipment is already underway. The launch of the first Oncology Drug Development and Production Centre in Poland and in our region is planned for 2024-2025.

2023-06-23 00:00 Approval for tachograph cards

According to European Union requirements, from 21 August 2023, all NEWLY REGISTERED vehicles over 3.5 tonnes used in international transport must be equipped with second-generation digital intelligent tachographs (G2v2). After 31 December 2024, ALL drivers in international transport will be required to install the new tachographs.

A team of PWPW experts has been working on the implementation of the EU law in Poland for more than a year (special mention to Sebastian Niemand and Michał Wieczorek). As part of the G2v2 project, a new type of card with enhanced functionalities and an in-house developed tool for personalising tachograph cards were developed. The professionalism of this implementation was confirmed by, among other things, a security certificate (in cooperation with Thales), a functional certificate (confirming that all requirements of Regulation (EU) 2016/799 and (EU) 2021/1228 are met) or an interoperability certificate (issued by the Joint Research Centre in Ispra).

The team's most recent achievement is the first approval certificate in Europe for second-generation smart tachographs (G2v2) issued by the Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt. PWPW is thus ready to start personalising and issuing cards for second-generation digital tachographs in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Infrastructure.

Thanks to the Project Team, made up of:

Urszula Bielicka, Dominika Buczek, Dorota Ciok, Iwona Markiewicz, Aleksandra Skiba, Agata Wojciechowska, Szymon Baziński, Krzysztof Dobosz, Marcin Fijołek, Sebastian Kalinowski, Bartosz Karczewski, Bartosz Kęsicki, Dariusz Klauziński, Michał Koptas, Piotr Kowalski, Marek Kozłowski, Michał Krzemiński, Jakub Midro, Jakub Pigul, Wojciech Proszewski, Norbert Rychlik, Borkowski Sławomir, Anton Smoliński, Michał Sobiech, Jarosław Supera, Zbigniew Szwoch, Kamil Tuszyński, Rafał Wójcik.

2023-06-19 00:00 PWPW wins in Greece

Previously, the Printing Works came top in the procedures announced by the national printers of France and Portugal. All of this year's contracts involve the production and supply of not less than 1,000 tons of passport paper per year.

- Thanks to well-thought-out investments, cost optimisation and the knowledge of the market that comes from experience, PWPW successfully competes with the largest paper mills in Europe and worldwide," explained Piotr Wojcieszek, PWPW board member, who supervises, among others, the Paper Mill Division and the Sales Office.

- The road to signing such contracts is long and requires passing a series of qualification tests to guarantee the high quality of the product and providing documents confirming the appropriate productivity and competence of the staff, as well as meeting requirements related to environmental protection or production safety, explained Grażyna Rafalska, director of PWPW’s Sales Office.

Banknote, passport and visa paper is a significant export source of revenue for PWPW. In the past 20 years, the manufacturer has signed contracts and supplied high-end products to almost 50 countries around the world.

2023-06-16 00:00 Common Criteria for PWPW application

Common Criteria (ISO15408) is an international standard confirming the highest level of security of IT solutions and their professional production process. #itsecurity. The success was possible thanks to the enormous commitment of the employees of the Works (special thanks to Michał Wieczorek, Jakub Piwowarczyk, Krzysiek Piech, and Adam Adamczuk). The native #PWP SmartApp-MRTD application is a state-of-the-art solution that meets all the rigorous requirements of the standard.

The highest standard was confirmed by an accredited laboratory, which verified in detail the application's source code, all procedures in the production process, and all documentation for over a year from a security perspective.

The PWPW application was embedded in a state-of-the-art microprocessor from Infineon Technologies.

- The certificate received is not only a reward for a job well done, but also an opportunity for PWPW to clearly mark its presence in the market of travel documents with an electronic layer, said Tadeusz Wachowski, director of PWPW's document production division.

- Currently, there are not many entities in the market that create their own solutions for the electronic document layer, especially in the form of native applications. This puts PWPW in a very narrow and elite group,' emphasised Mariusz Kujawski, PWPW management board member overseeing the work of the technology divisions.

2023-05-27 00:00 Science Picnic with PWPW

The attractions prepared by PWPW especially for the Picnic proved extremely popular. At the PWPW stand, visitors could make a sheet of handmade paper with a special watermark, personalise a plastic card or make a number on a commemorative ID card using a pre-war manual printing machine, the so-called 'bostonka'. The greatest fun was had by the youngest visitors to the mobile printing works, but even the older ones, with a twinkle in their eye, turned for a moment into producers of watermarked paper or personalised plastic ID cards.

2023-05-25 00:00 PWPW participated in ID4Africa

The event, this year organised under the theme “Digital Identity as Public Infrastructure”, was held in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, from 23 to 25 May. PWPW was present at the fair with its stand, where it exhibited solutions for the production of personal documents and passports.

ID4Africa is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) founded in 2014 that aims to promote modern digital identity systems as enablers to support countries on the African continent in their social and economic development. Its annual gathering is accompanied by a conference and trade fair that brings together around 1,500 industry professionals.

2023-05-18 00:00 The Currency Conference with PWPW participation

The Currency Conference is organised every two years, the current edition being the 20th meeting in the series. For four days, Mexico City becomes the main arena for debates on issuance policy, money-related strategy, as well as innovative solutions in the areas of production, security and cash handling.

Representatives of the Polish Security Printing Works are also in Mexico. On the second day of the conference, Radosław Śliwa gave a presentation. In it, he talked about the work carried out by PWPW in creating security features visible under ultraviolet light, made possible by the company's unique competences, the inks it has developed and its modern machinery. Participants had the opportunity to learn about the results of research and test projects, as well as the approach taken by the Printing Works in selecting security features for banknotes.

2023-04-18 00:00 New plaque on PWPW fence

These soldiers took part in actions undertaken by the Polish underground in April and May 1943 in the New Town and Muranów areas to relieve the fighters in the ghetto. The ceremony, organised on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, brought together representatives of PWPW, the Institute of National Remembrance, which is the founder of the plaque, the army, the secret services, central offices and the authorities of the capital. Among those invited was also "our" insurgent, Juliusz Kulesza, who shared his memories of those days.

The heroes of the Underground State, involved in combat, were honoured with wreaths. The plaque, unveiled by PWPW President Piotr Ciompa, Dr Mateusz Szpyma, deputy president of the Polish National Remembrance Institute (IPN), and Dr Tomasz Łabuszewski, director of the IPN branch in Warsaw, will be looked after on a daily basis by our neighbours, students of the Stanisław Noakowski Architectural and Construction Technical School.

"When we fell victim to Nazi Germany, the political elite, the state authorities and the armed forces decided to defend all citizens regardless of religion, nationality or opinion. And although attempts were made to divide us, we did not allow this at the time and we passed the test. These actions, with which the Polish underground tried to help fellow citizens fighting for their lives, for their dignity in the Warsaw Ghetto, are proof of this" - Wiktor Klimiuk, Chairman of the PWPW Supervisory Board, said during the ceremony.

The following day, 19 April this year, exactly on the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, flowers were laid by Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki at the plaque commemorating the soldiers of the Home Army Warsaw-City District.

Wydarzenia w PWPW S.A.