Entrust Customers

Illinois E-Government Enabled by Entrust Enhanced Internet Security

The State of Illinois has transformed itself into an E-Government leader by redesigning the delivery of government services. As a part of this evolution, Illinois has included an initiative designed to add an extra layer of security to online government services available to every Illinois citizen. The initiative, called the Digital Signature/Public Key Infrastructure Project, is the result of a strategic relationship with Entrust. With the help of Entrust's enhanced Internet security, the State of Illinois is dramatically improving how it interacts with constituents by enabling the general public, businesses and not-for-profit organizations to conduct secure online transactions.

The Need
Prior to the Digital Signature/Public-Key Infrastructure Project, the state was not taking full advantage of the Internet's inherent efficiencies to improve service levels and reduce the cost of government. In fact, Illinois ranked 49th among states in using information technology to deliver services to its citizens. Illinois is now tied for first in the nation according to the 2001 Digital State survey conducted by the Center for Digital Government and The Progress & Freedom Foundation.

The Challenges
In Illinois, more than 100 state agencies, boards and commissions interact to provide thousands of services to 12.4 million Illinoisans. To deliver online government services, the state needed an Internet security solution that cut across the multiple agencies and provided the enhanced security and privacy required to protect its constituents.

Illinois also required the legislation and policies necessary to make e-Government a reality. In 1998, the Illinois legislature passed the Electronic Commerce Security Act allowing electronic records and signatures to be used in government transactions. The state's chief technology officer was commissioned by the Governor to develop initiatives to "improve customer service, maximize taxpayer resources, and make the state more performance-driven, efficient, and accountable." It was then that Illinois began its strategic alliance with Entrust.

The Solution
Illinois created the Digital Signature/Public Key Infrastructure Project to enable state agencies and their "customers" to conduct online transactions with security, confidence and ease. Entrust's enhanced Internet security allows the state's systems to authenticate users, provide privacy and integrity of data, and create evidence to help in binding parties to a transaction through an auditable record.

Once registered with the system, each user is issued a digital certificate that provides access to a variety of online government services. The single digital certificate can be used with various state agencies, eliminating the need for multiple pin numbers, passwords, or encryption keys.

The Value Proposition
The secure online system makes delivery of government services faster and more efficient. Online service delivery will provide citizens, businesses, and service agencies with timesaving programs and up-to-the minute, always-accessible government information.

Illinois has targeted 16 agencies for priority deployment of Entrust's enhanced Internet security by 2002, including the Department of Revenue, the Department of Employment Security, the Department of Public Health, and the state's Environmental Protection Agency. In some cases, deployment is well underway.

For example, the Illinois Department on Aging is the state's first agency to offer online e-Government services to external agencies utilizing PKI. The department's Case Coordination Unit (CCU) is a statewide network of independent service agencies that provide care and referral services to more than 114,000 older adults. CCU's can now securely review patient eligibility and service records online, and partnering state agencies can also verify records online. The online system saves time and administrative costs, and allows CCU to better meet the needs of its patients.

The Department of Revenue and the Department of Employment Security are working together to provide businesses a "single point" quarterly tax filing capability. The new filing system will allow 75 percent of the state's businesses to make state and federal tax payments in one secure online transaction, greatly easing the paperwork burden on businesses and making Illinois an easier state in which to do business.

The Future
Working with Entrust, the state of Illinois will continue to extend its e-Government leadership by aggressively deploying an enterprise-wide infrastructure that will provide secure online services to citizens, businesses and service agencies. Governor Ryan is firmly delivering on his pledge to use electronic government service applications "not just in automating transactions, but in truly transforming the way government serves the public."