Entrust Salutes State of Illinois: Winner of 2001 Digital State Award for E-Government Leadership
Entrust VPN, Desktop and Web Portal Solutions Secure E-Government Blueprint as State reaps the benefits of E-Government
04 Mar 2002
DALLAS -- Entrust, Inc. [Nasdaq: ENTU], a leading global provider of Internet security solutions and services, salutes the State of Illinois for its receipt of the 2001 Digital State Award for leadership in E-Government initiatives. The State of Illinois has been a premier customer of Entrust since first announcing its standardization on Entrust Internet security software in January 2001.
The 2001 Digital State Award is granted annually following a major national survey on the use of technology in all 50 states. The survey evaluates the use of technology services in eight categories: education, law enforcement and the courts, GIS and transportation, electronic commerce and business regulation, taxation and revenue, management and administration, social services and digital democracy.
Under the direction of Governor George H. Ryan, Illinois has put a strong emphasis on the use of digital technology in all areas to make government more accessible and to improve services. Through its technology investment, Illinois has improved its position by 48 places since 1998.
Governor Ryan received the 2001 Digital State award in a Feb. 14 ceremony at the State Capitol Rotunda. He then digitally signed an administrative order, which was e-mailed to cabinet members to electronically verify. The order reinforces Illinois' continued expansion of PKI across agencies and levels of government to provide seamless services to citizens and businesses. The electronic verification was enabled with Entrust enhanced Internet security solutions including Entrust Entelligence? and Entrust Authority? software.
"Illinois has developed a model blueprint around the deployment of enhanced Internet security within State government. It is a shining example of leadership working to fulfill President Bush's mandate for E-Government," said Bill Conner, president and chief executive officer and chairman, Entrust, Inc. "We look forward to a continued partnership with the State, and others, as we continue to work closely with government to deploy industry leading solutions for e-government security, privacy and protection against cyber-terrorism."
Illinois has the sixth largest high-tech economies in the United States. A recent University of Minnesota study found that the Chicago metropolitan area has more high-tech jobs - 347,100 -- than Silicon Valley, Seattle, Boston and other high-tech centers in the United States.
Much of the growth in Illinois' high-tech economy over the last three years is due to the direct investment of state government and a strong commitment by the governor to building a high-tech infrastructure that attracts and encourages cutting-edge research, new applications and marketable products.
Entrust enhanced Internet security is Illinois' technology of choice for enhanced Internet security projects statewide:
- The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency plans to use Web-based data capture and Entrust enhanced Internet security to automate the monitoring reports for its facilities that submit more than 3,500 paper forms a month.
- The Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR) plans to issue Entrust digital identities to enable companies to file quarterly taxes, complete license registrations and conduct other government business privately, securely and hassle-free over the Internet.
The Progress & Freedom Foundation and the Center for Digital Government conduct the annual Digital State 2001survey.
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