Entrust PKI included on Spain’s National ID Card
09 March, 2006
category: Corporate, Digital ID, Government
With more than 40 million cards to be issued to Spanish citizens, the country’s national ID cards will incorporate both physical and logical applications including digital certificates from Entrust. “The centralized infrastructure supporting this effort will consist of a hierarchical architecture, which includes, among other elements, certification authorities (CAs) and registration authorities (RAs), which will be deployed in police stations where citizens will be able to obtain their new ID card with only a single visit.”
Entrust to Secure Spain’s National Electronic ID Cards for Over 40 Million Spanish Citizens
Digital Certificates and Security Infrastructure to Provide Security for Use of the Electronic ID Card Among Citizens, Businesses and Government Agencies
DALLAS, March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ – Entrust, Inc. (NASDAQ:ENTU) , a world leader in securing digital identities and information, today announced that the company’s security technology will be imbedded in the Spanish national electronic identity cards for over 40 million Spanish citizens. The project, awarded in Q2 of 2005, is one of the most ambitious government-wide efforts in the world and has the potential of catapulting Spain to the forefront of e-governments globally.
The Spanish Police Headquarters awarded the project to the consortium of companies including Telefonica, Indra, Software AG and SIA Group. SIA Group, a multinational corporation specializing in the implementation and development of state-of-the-art technological infrastructures, was chosen to supply the Public Key Infrastructure by Entrust. The solution is being designed to offer an architecture that can provide flexibility, high performance, scalability and security.
In addition to the many physical security measures to be implemented for information security, the electronic ID card will have a digital certificate for authentication and digital signature capabilities. The centralized infrastructure supporting this effort will consist of a hierarchical architecture, which includes, among other elements, certification authorities (CAs) and registration authorities (RAs), which will be deployed in police stations where citizens will be able to obtain their new ID card with only a single visit.
SIA Group Chief Executive Officer Enrique Palomares noted, “The implementation of the electronic National Identity Card will provide all the elements to more securely identify Spanish citizens, and provide a user- friendly process to carry out procedures that require a digital signature. As a leader in securing governments world-wide, Entrust was the natural choice for this effort.
“We are pleased that the project is progressing according to schedule,” continued Palomares. “We recently completed the root key generation ceremony and look forward to moving into the implementation phase.”
The solution proposed by SIA has been certified under the international FIPS 140-1 protocol and Common Criteria, which tests whether the design and implementation of its components were carried out in accordance with strong standards and in compliance with international security criteria.
“Entrust is proud to contribute its expertise to such a significant project as the Spanish electronic ID card initiative,” said Entrust President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Conner. “This project demonstrates the increasing demand for digital certificates to support secure transactions between citizens and government agencies along with the value behind e- government initiatives.”
About SIA
SIA Group is a European multinational of Spanish origin set up in 1989, which specialises in IT services for large companies. They have offices in Spain (Madrid and Barcelona) and Portugal (Lisbon and Oporto).
Based on their approach, which is to offer global solutions for numerous business problems, SIA Group is now a consolidated company and reference collaborator for Business Management, Security, Storage and Mobility.
SIA Group combines technological consulting, integration systems and state-of-the-art technology in the IT sector and has, as the secret to their success, highly qualified professionals, strategic alliances with leading partners in the sector, besides flexible adaptation to their customers’ requirements.
Since the start of 2004 with the acquisition of the Portuguese company, CESCE SI (a leader in Data Storage), SIA Group became one of the top companies on the Iberian IT market with more than 380 professionals at the service of their customers. The company therefore took a step forward in the direction they have always taken, which is their commitment to specialisation and the most critical IT infrastructures for business.
About Entrust
Entrust, Inc. is a world leader in securing digital identities and information. Over 1,400 enterprises and government agencies in more than 50 countries use Entrust solutions to help secure the digital lives of their citizens, customers, employees and partners. Our proven software and services can help customers in achieving regulatory and corporate compliance, while helping to turn security challenges such as identity theft and e-mail security into business opportunities. For more information on how Entrust can help secure your digital life, please visit: http://www.entrust.com/
Entrust is a registered trademark of Entrust, Inc. in the United States and certain other countries. In Canada, Entrust is a registered trademark of Entrust Limited. All Entrust product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of Entrust, Inc. or Entrust Limited. All other company and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the use of Entrust’s products in the Spanish national identity card project, the projected size of such deployment, and the potential future demand for digital certificates for e-government initiatives, and such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are delays in product development, difficulties in the coordination of efforts between Entrust, SIA Group, other companies involved in the Spanish national identity card project, and various departments and agencies of the Spanish government, changes in funding for Spanish government security initiatives, the ability of participants in the project to meet contractual requirements, undetected software errors or bugs, competitive pressures, market acceptance of technologies of Entrust, technical difficulties, changes in customer requirements, government regulations, general economic conditions and the risk factors detailed from time to time in Entrust’s periodic reports and registration statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including without limitation Entrust’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2005. Entrust cautions investors that it might not update any or all of the foregoing forward-looking statements.
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