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
08 Mar 2006
DALLAS - 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.