Datakey Middleware Selected for the U.S. Department of Defense Common Access Card Program
08 August, 2002
category: Biometrics, Contactless, Education, Government
MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – Datakey Inc. (Nasdaq: DKEY) ( http://www.datakey.com ), a trusted developer of smart card solutions for securing enterprise-wide personal identification, today announced that it was selected as a supplier of middleware for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Common Access Card (CAC) program. Datakey was one of four winners competitively selected from a field of 12 vendors.
According to terms of the contract, Datakey is being awarded an estimated $6,840,000 multiple award, firm-fixed-priced, indefinite-delivery and indefinite-quantity contract for the purchase of middleware – including client software, software licenses and maintenance support – to function with the DoD Common Access Card. The cumulative maximum amount to be expended over the program period is $26 million. Work performed by Datakey for this three- year program would be completed by August 2005.
Any DoD organization can order Datakey middleware under this contract, which was procured through the Naval Inventory Control Point, Mechanicsburg, PA (N00104-02-D-Q666).
“Datakey has always focused on the U.S. government market, with a strong history of delivering our leading smart card technology to government agencies for strong user authentication and to secure online operations,” said Carl Boecher, president and CEO, Datakey. “The selection of our middleware for the DoD CAC program gives us the opportunity to expand our government markets to the important CAC program and the Department of Defense, and demonstrates again that our information security solutions are a trusted choice within the U.S. government.”
Datakey’s CAC middleware
Datakey’s robust middleware offers many benefits to agencies participating in the CAC program, including:
– Interoperability
– Datakey’s DoD CAC middleware includes industry-standard PKCS #11 and MS-CAPI interfaces and the DoD-defined Basic Services Interface (BSI).
Through these interfaces – combined seamlessly and transparently in Datakey CAC software – users can take advantage of any DoD CAC card together with Datakey middleware to run their applications, with the assurance that Datakey CAC client software supports all data stored on the cards.
– Flexibility – Datakey’s CAC middleware is based on its field-tested, proven and interoperable CIP client software for enterprises but specially tailored to meet the requirements of the CAC program.
Government agencies can be assured that Datakey’s CAC-compliant middleware will seamlessly interoperate in their environments with any DoD CAC card. This gives agencies a great deal of flexibility, since they aren’t tied to one vendor but rather can take advantage of multiple cards and Datakey software in their CAC deployment.
– Demonstrated functionality – Datakey CAC middleware provides users with the utilities that are necessary to manage their smart card, including a PIN manager, the ability to view digital credentials, and the ability to register certificates within Microsoft environments.
About Datakey Inc.
Datakey Inc. ( http://www.datakey.com ) focuses on delivering reliable smart card-based solutions for securing enterprise-wide personal identification. Datakey smart card technology is trusted to:
– Safeguard a user’s digital identity.
– Authenticate and control user access to enterprise networks, applications and resources.
– Protect the integrity and privacy of data shared over corporate networks and the Internet.
Customers and partners alike rely on Datakey technology in a full range of enterprise applications, including password management, host authentication, Windows log-on, VPN access, web authorization, desktop security, corporate badge and building access, biometric integration, public key encryption, digital certificates and digital signatures.
