Max Snijder
Managing Director
European Biometric Group

Biometrics for National ID Schemes: Risks and opportunities

Max Snijder is one of the leading independent biometrics experts in Europe. His practical experience and integrated approach has lead to an overall view on the biometrics and ID-management business. This includes strategic aspects of biometrics deployments (like costs/benefits, risk analysis and business models), as well as issues on functional requirements, use cases and processes. In the field of testing and certification of biometric equipment and systems he plays an important role in establishing European capabilities for testing and certification of biometric components and systems.

After a career as entrepreneur in the not-for-profit sector, Max Snijder became one of the pioneers of biometrics in the Netherlands. After several years of extensive experience with numerous biometric projects like Privium at Schiphol Airport, he founded the European Biometrics Group in 2004 with the purpose of bringing together the fragmented knowledge and experience in the field of biometrics. His network of experts cover all relevant areas of biometrics, from strategic to operational, from legal to technical.

As an expert himself he is involved in several projects and consortia, ranging from passports and visa to large scale watch list applications and Registered Traveler Programs. For the European Commission he contributed to a study on the feasibility of a European Registered Traveler Program.

Today, Max Snijder is involved in the key areas of the biometrics business. On a European level he is involved in numerous workshops, committees and expert groups. As an independent consultant he is frequently being hired to review, supervise and monitor projects that involve biometrics. He works for several European member states’ governments on passports, AFIS and visa projects.

Max Snijder is a member of several high level bodies, like the Consortium on Security and Technology of the EastWest Institute, The Porvoo Group, the CEN Working Group on Integrated Border Management, CEN Biometric Focus Group. He is a Founding Member of the IFIP Working Group on Identity Management and member of the ePractice Working Group on eID. In 2008 he joined ThinkTrust, a European Think Tank on “Investigating Security, Dependability, Trust, Privacy and Identity from ICT and social perspectives” (www.think-trust.eu), funded by the European Commission. He is a member of the industrial committee of the STORK Project (www.eid-stork.eu/).

Max Snijder is frequently invited to act at conferences, seminars, workshops and expert meetings, such as the Security Defense Agenda, Irish Council for BioEthics, the Dutch Innovation Platform, ESRIF, World eID, Biometrics 2006, Homeland Security Europe 2006/2007, Fraud Europe 2007, Fraud World 2008, Advanced eID Systems Europe 2007, the Global Biometrics Summit 2006, A Fine Balance (www.petsfinebalance.com), IDWorld and many others. He was the first biometrics expert to give a lecture at the Center of Excellence–Defence Against Terrorism (CoE-DAT) of the NATO in Ankara.

As CEO of the European Biometrics Forum, he is chairman of the International Biometrics Advisory Council and the annual European Biometrics Seminar. For the MTIT Project (www.mtitproject.com), the EC funded project on interoperability of fingerprint templates, Max Snijder was responsible for the day to day project management. He is coordinator and program manager of BioTesting Europe, a pan-European project on testing and certification of biometric components and systems (www.biotestingeurope.eu). For the EC JRC/IPTS he produced the report ‘Security and Privacy in Large Scale Biometric Systems’ (download from www.eubiometricsforum.com). In early 2009 he successfully acquired European funding to establish Europe’s largest thematic network under the ICT-PSP Program. The network, consisting of government representatives, leading experts, research institutes and industry representatives will be officially launched later this year.

The European Biometrics Group is a network of experienced consultants who provide professional services to governments and industry. The services range from training, education, testing and evaluating to project management, program management and technical support.

With a broad knowledge about the market for biometric technologies and applications, he is increasingly involved in the business aspects of biometrics, meaning creating and assessing business plans, providing strategic business consultancy to industrial players and venture capitalists and accompanying mergers and acquisitions.