SAN DIEGO, CA, October 12, 2005 - The lack of identity management currently costs businesses and individuals billions of dollars every year and has sobering consequences for national security, as a result, the biometrics market is expected to grow to $5bn in 2008 fueled by innovations that make biometric solutions affordable and by technology advancements that improve reliability. To that end, ImageWare Systems Inc. (AMEX: IW), a world leading developer and provider of identity management solutions, has built on its years of experience developing identification solutions for law enforcement and secure IDs and passports to develop the IWS™ Biometric Engine® platform which is designed to enable government agencies and private enterprise to verify the identities of people quickly, easily and efficiently.

At the upcoming Biometrics 2005 Conference being held October 19-21, 2005 in Westminster, London, UK, ImageWare Systems will demonstrate the core features and functionality of their Biometric Engine platform, including:

• ICAO SmartCard integration: ImageWare’s new biometric secure smartcard ID solution using the Oberthur 64K smartcard and the GemBorder 32K smartcard, where demographic data, face, two iris and full ten print finger prints are enrolled into the Biometric Engine system and an Secure Smartcard as per ICAO current specifications is created.
• FIPS 201 (PIV) capabilities: The company’s biometric solutions will address physical access control to US government facilities and logical access control to the US government information systems. Fingerprint images are stored as WSQ encoded images encapsulated in an INCIT 381-2004 data record, encapsulated itself in a CBEFF structure.
• Livescan civil & criminal capabilities: Users can now capture single prints, ten prints or palm prints to further improve the investigative process.

“Knowing the identity of workers and passengers moving through a large, distributed airport facility is a must in today’s world, as is knowing who is coming into a country is essential to national security,” said Jim Miller, Chairman and CEO, ImageWare Systems. “Our solutions, specifically the Biometric Engine, can be used to capture an individual’s biometry such as a fingerprint, face or iris and used in tandem with a national ID and passport/visa issuance system, provides a highly secure entry/exit system that verifies the identity of individuals entering or exiting a country, as well as securing property, people and access to information.”

The IWS™ Biometric Engine® is a scalable, agnostic omni-biometric identity management solution that delivers non-refutable proof of identity and ensures only valid individuals gain access to controlled areas or secure documents. The IWS™ Biometric Engine® is available as part of a Web-based, biometric enrollment and identity verification application. It is also available as a software developer’s kit (SDK) that enables system integrators to build custom identity verification applications or incorporate biometric enrollment, search and authentication functionality into existing applications.

Most importantly, the IWS™ Biometric Engine® provides undisputable proof of identity across large-scale populations and distributed enterprises conveniently, inexpensively and securely and can be integrated into a variety of applications which can be deployed in a wide array of various industries. The IWS™ Biometric Engine® is based on field-proven IWS technology that has been used to manage millions of biometric templates since 1997.

“We are proud to present our latest technology and products at the Biometrics 2005 as it presents an important opportunity and appropriate forum to demonstrate and deliver the best biometric tools to those that need it most,” Miller concluded.

About ImageWare Systems, Inc.
ImageWare Systems, Inc. (AMEX:IW), is a leading developer and provider of identity management solutions, providing biometric, secure credential, law enforcement and digital imaging technologies. Scalable for worldwide deployment, the Company's biometric product line includes a multi-biometric engine that is hardware and algorithm independent, enabling the enrollment and management of unlimited population sizes. ImageWare's identification products are used to manage and issue secure credentials including national IDs, passports, driver licenses, smart cards and access control credentials. ImageWare's digital booking products provide law enforcement with integrated mug shot, fingerprint Livescan and investigative capabilities. The Company also provides comprehensive digital workflow solutions for the professional photography industry. ImageWare is headquartered in San Diego, with offices in Washington DC and Canada. For more information visit www.iwsinc.com.

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This news release may contain forward-looking statements made pursuant to the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these statements are meant to convey to the public the company's progress, business opportunities and growth prospects, readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements represent management's opinion. While management believes such representation to be true and accurate based on the information available to the company, actual results may differ materially from those described. The company's operations and business prospects are always subject to risks and uncertainties. Important facts that may cause actual results to differ are set forth in the company’s periodic filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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