UAE taps Entrust for PKI-enabled IDs
25 May, 2011
category: Digital ID, Government
The United Arab Emirates has chosen Entrust Inc. to provide PKI-based national ID technology to the country. The Emirates Identity Authority is providing smart national ID card to citizens and expatriates that aim to enhance the stability and safety of the people and government of the UAE.
The program is adopting PKI technology to position the UAE ID program with some of the most advanced technology available. By employing the latest visual and biometric security features and embedded PKI technology, the ID cards will validate the identity of each individual and provide strong authentication to applications.
With the majority of citizens already registered for cards, this marks the next phase of the Identity Authority’s program to integrate the nations IDs for secure access to online government services. All citizens are required to register for a card by the end of June 2011.
Emirates Identity Authority’s program establishes a modern population register in order to facilitate government services as well as to provide the required information for supporting strategic planning and the allocation of resources throughout the UAE.
Through this project, Emirates ID is also responsible for the issuance of electronic identity cards for the whole population in the country in order to verify and confirm the identity of each individual through a unique personal number linked to the biological features of the individual and storied in a smart card.
Entrust has been an adviser to many countries as they pursue e-passport and national ID projects. The technology is currently in production use in a number of countries issuing a high volume of e-passports, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Taiwan, Singapore, Denmark, Ireland, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, New Zealand and Finland.