BIO-key PortalGuard Wins 2022 Fortress Cyber Security Award in Authentication and Identity

WALL, N.J., June 08, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BIO-key® International, Inc. (NASDAQ: BKYI), an innovative provider of Identity and Access Management (IAM) and Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) solutions, today announced that its BIO-key PortalGuard^® platform has won the 2022 Fortress Cyber Security Awards in the Authentication and Identity category. The industry awards program sought to identify and reward the world’s leading companies and products that are working to keep our data and electronic assets safe among a growing threat from hackers.

The global community of cyber security experts, technology developers and governments are taking proactive steps to thwart attacks and preventative measures to remain one-step ahead so responses can be quick and efficient. With evidence that multi-factor authentication has the ability to prevent as much as 80-90%, of cyberattacks one of the most essential steps organizations can take is to implement an authentication and identity strategy.

For multiple reasons, BIO-key PortalGuard^® stands out for its ability to help organizations implement a complete IAM strategy. It is the only IAM platform to offer Identity-Bound Biometric (IBB) authentication as part of its multi-factor authentication capabilities, which verifies the person – not just a password, token, or device. It offers unmatched flexibility to support solution consolidation and/or aggregation under one set of centrally managed security policies and drive better user adoption. PortalGuard is also competitively priced, offering all capabilities of the platform often at 50-60% below the competition, and is backed by a team of IAM experts, who are easy to reach and act as an extension of the customer's IT team, thereby improving their cybersecurity posture quickly. 

“Traditional authentication methods, based on something the user knows or has, are being hacked,” says Michael DePasquale, BIO-key’s Chairman and CEO. “We are honored to have PortalGuard recognized for its ability to not only control access, but more importantly for its ability to offer true biometric authentication, a better way to authenticate, at a time when it is needed more than ever.”

The Fortress Cyber Security Awards program highlights, discusses, and rewards creative thinking, engineering, people, and projects that are taking on the growing cybercrime threat for the benefit of the global community.

“We are so proud to name BIO-key PortalGuard as a winner in the 2022 Fortress Cyber Security Awards program,” said Maria Jimenez, Chief Nominations Officer, Business Intelligence Group. “As our society continues to evolve and become more reliant on networks and data, companies like BIO-key are critical at providing the protection and trust consumers demand.”

BIO-key PortalGuard offers an unmatched variety of choices for multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO), self-service password reset (SSPR), and Identity-Bound Biometrics and is well-suited for everyday use cases including remote workforces, third-party access, Customer IAM (CIAM), and passwordless workflows. For over 20 years, PortalGuard has been trusted by customers across multiple industries, including education, healthcare, manufacturing, finance, and government to reduce password-related help desk calls by up to 95%, eliminate passwords, secure remote access, prevent phishing attacks, meet cyber insurance requirements, and improve productivity for any IT team.

For information about BIO-key please visit the company website. For information about the annual Fortress Cyber Security Awards, please visit the awards website.

About BIO-key International, Inc. (www.BIO-key.com)
BIO-key has over two decades of expertise in providing authentication technology for thousands of organizations and millions of users and is revolutionizing authentication with biometric-centric, multi-factor identity and access management (IAM) solutions, including its PortalGuard IAM solution, that provides convenient and secure access to devices, information, applications, and high-value transactions. BIO-key's patented software and hardware solutions, with industry leading biometric capabilities, enable large-scale on-premises and cloud-based Identity-as-a-Service (IDaaS) solutions, as well as customized enterprise solutions.

About Business Intelligence Group (www.bintelligence.com)
The Business Intelligence Group was founded with the mission of recognizing true talent and superior performance in the business world. Unlike other industry award programs, these programs are judged by business executives having experience and knowledge. The organization's proprietary and unique scoring system selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and rewards those companies whose achievements stand above those of their peers.

BIO-key Safe Harbor Statement
All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical facts are "forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Act"). The words "estimate," "project," "intends," "expects," "anticipates," "believes," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are made based on management's beliefs, as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, management pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Act. These statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those included within or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, our history of losses and limited revenue; our ability to raise additional capital; our ability to protect our intellectual property; changes in business conditions; changes in our sales strategy and product development plans; changes in the marketplace; continued services of our executive management team; security breaches; competition in the biometric technology industry; market acceptance of biometric products generally and our products under development; the duration and severity of the current coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on our business operations, sales cycles, personnel, and the geographic markets in which we operate; delays in the development of products and statements of assumption underlying any of the foregoing as well as other factors set forth under the caption see "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to disclose any revision to these forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Additionally, there may be other factors of which the Company is not currently aware that may affect matters discussed in forward-looking statements and may also cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed. In particular, the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak to economic conditions and the industry in general and the financial position and operating results of our Company, in particular, have been material, are changing rapidly, and cannot be predicted.

Engage with BIO-key
Facebook – Corporate: https://www.facebook.com/BIOkeyInternational/  
LinkedIn – Corporate: https://www.linkedin.com/company/bio-key-international  
Twitter – Corporate: @BIOkeyIntl
Twitter – Investors: @BIO_keyIR
StockTwits: BIO_keyIR

Media Contact
Erin Knapp
Matter on behalf of BIO-key
BIO-Key@matternow.com  

Investor Contacts
William Jones, David Collins
Catalyst IR
BKYI@catalyst-ir.com  
1-212-924-9800

Business Intelligence Group Contact
Maria Jimenez
Chief Nominations Officer
Business Intelligence Group
contact@fortresswards.com
1-909-529-2737