Cross Match Technologies Teams With ITOCHU To Expand Distribution to Asia; Japanese Trading Giant to Represent Leading Biometrics Company in Six Asian Countries.

WASHINGTON -- Cross Match Technologies, Inc., a leading global provider of forensic-quality fingerprint and palm print biometric identification solutions, has signed an agreement with ITOCHU Management Consulting Co., Ltd, to work together to distribute Cross Match products in Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Thailand.

"Cross Match is honored to work with such a prominent and successful company as ITOCHU," said Ted Johnson, Cross Match Chairman and CEO. "We are excited about the tremendous potential business in the untapped Asian biometrics market. And by combining ITOCHU's vast distribution infrastructure and strong reputation with our proven technology, we are well positioned to deliver high-throughput, large-scale biometric security systems throughout Asia," he added.

"We see a number of opportunities in our existing markets where we can utilize Cross Match's quality fingerprint identification technology," said Takashi Morinaga, President and CEO of ITOCHU Management Consulting. "As Asian governments begin to develop programs similar to the Department of Homeland Security's US-VISIT program to protect borders, we feel we can jointly offer a formidable solution for border, airport, seaport and transportation safety," he added.

National security is a key sector in which Cross Match and Itochu will work together. NTT-Communications, a Japanese telecom, networking, and systems integration company, also plans to work with Cross Match and ITOCHU to target homeland security applications in Asian markets.

In addition, commercial industries, such as retail stores and financial institutions, are also a prime target for joint solutions. ITOCHU is keenly interested in Cross Match's Authorizer(TM) new product development initiative. The Authorizer is a small piezo electric ceramic sensor that can measure a person's fingerprint, blood flow, bone structure and other biometrics, in addition to determining if a person is alive or anxious. A few examples of the many potential applications for the Authorizer upon completion include: embedding the sensor in credit cards and cell phones to initiate financial transactions; using the sensor in point of sale terminals for purchasing retail products or cashing checks; embedding the Authorizer in vending machines to authorize purchasing products, and in automobile key fobs to gain access and set personal preferences.

About Cross Match Technologies, Inc.

Since its founding in 1996, Cross Match Technologies, Inc. has been at the forefront of applying forensic quality fingerprint imaging technology towards the development of cost-effective biometric security solutions for law enforcement, federal, aviation, commercial and international organizations. Headquartered in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, and offering the broadest product lines in the industry, Cross Match is recognized for setting new standards in fingerprint imaging components through its more than 150 existing or pending patents and related intellectual properties. Additional information on Cross Match is available at http://www.crossmatch.com.

About ITOCHU

ITOCHU is one of Japan's leading trading companies with offices in over 80 countries and operations that cover a broad spectrum of industries. It is ranked 17th among the top 500 companies in the world. ITOCHU is listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange with a current market capitalization of over US $7 billion. ITOCHU Management Consulting is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITOCHU.