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Entrust, 3M Collaborate to Provide End-to-End Secure ePassport Solution
2008-09-11
ePassport leaders help governments move toward EAC standard by providing
ePassport readers, PKI technology in a single platform
DALLAS, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- As ePassport technology
continues to be adopted by countries around the globe, many seek a method to
deploy border security capabilities in an efficient, cost-effective manner. In
response, Entrust, Inc. (NASDAQ: ENTU) and 3M (NYSE: MMM) announce a partnership
to provide an integrated end-to-end secure ePassport solution, which provides
the necessary components to implement Basic Access Control (BAC) and Extended
Access Control (EAC) ePassport security, while also securing the surrounding
data and communications infrastructures.
"As two of the world's leading ePassport experts, this collaboration is an
important achievement as we help global governments deploy first-generation or
migrate to second-generation ePassports," said Rich Sanders, business manager,
3M Security Systems Division. "Entrust is a pioneer in ePassport encryption
technology and this agreement strengthens both of our ePassport offerings by
providing interested governments a single, interoperable source for a
comprehensive ePassport solution."
With technical integration already complete, Entrust and 3M will offer an
integrated end-to-end secure ePassport solution. A global leader in the public
key infrastructure technology, Entrust PKI secures the world's top e-government
environments, as well as supports the two largest ePassport deployments in the
world.
"The partnership is a fundamental step toward helping governments efficiently
secure their borders by leveraging a proven ePassport solution that is not only
reliable, but scalable," said Entrust Chairman, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Bill Conner. "3M is an innovator in ePassport reader technology;
Entrust has long been the champion of public key infrastructure, particularly
for use in government and government-to-citizen environments. This is a natural
partnership that will help global governments usher in the EAC standard in the
coming years."
The Entrust-3M partnership was praised by Brussels Interoperability Group (BIG)
chairman Bob Carter. BIG is a Technical Working Group established by the
European Union (EU) "Article 6 Committee." The group's purpose is to resolve the
problems of interoperability among electronic passports of EU and Schengen
states for the European implementation of EAC.
"With national security a priority among governments in Europe and around the
globe, it's exciting to see leaders in the ePassport and eID security space such
as 3M and Entrust collaborating to provide interoperable security solutions,"
said Carter. "Such collaboration will be critical to the efficient rollout of
border control systems to meet the EAC specifications."
BIG set the standard for EAC, which is the second generation of ePassports and
allows governments to leverage a stronger biometric that is more difficult to
impersonate on the RFID chip, typically a fingerprint or iris scan. EAC
ePassports also require the encryption of the chip contents; even if a criminal
has the ability to impersonate the enhanced biometric, access to the chip
contents is denied with encryption.
Labeled as Phase 2, EAC requirements imply a significant jump in the need for
technical cooperation and interoperability between nations. Entrust and 3M have
mature underlying technology to provide stability and scalability within this
advanced ePassport technology.
"With the European Union's deadline for adopting EAC less than a year away,
governments should begin implementing or evolving their ePassport strategies
today," said Conner. "Now that advanced EAC ePassport technology can be
implemented via an integrated, comprehensive platform, governments can expedite
the process of providing stronger security for their passports, save money and
instill trust among citizens."
Because of the stringent access controls of the second-generation ePassports,
the PKI requirements are much higher, demanding a vendor that can provide
scalability, reliability and unprecedented performance. It is this PKI
foundation that helps ensure ePassports can be accessed at border stations with
proper authentication, but not by criminals who may seek access to the data for
purposes of manipulation or impersonation.
Created to mitigate passport forgery, first-generation ePassports use a Basic
Access Control (BAC) RFID chip containing a simple biometric (usually a photo of
the individual) along with the identity information of an individual duplicated
on the paper document. Entrust provides the digital signatures on BAC ePassports
that help prevent a cloned or modified passport, when it is properly processed,
from being used to cross a border.
The ICAO targets global adoption of Phase 1 for ePassports -- commonly known as
BAC -- by 2015. Initial ePassport projects typically standardize on BAC, which
is in production in Europe and many parts of the world. Entrust provides
security for the BAC ePassports of a number of top e-governments in the world,
including the United States, United Kingdom, Slovenia, Singapore, Taiwan and New
Zealand.
Entrust Authority 8.0 for ePassports, one of Entrust's proven PKI platforms,
provides cryptographic architecture that enables trust of ePassports between
countries. Modular and fully integrated, the Entrust Authority PKI portfolio is
built on the foundation of Entrust Authority Security Manager, the certification
authority (CA) system responsible for issuing and managing users' digital
identities. Approximately 1,000 government and commercial organizations have
purchased Entrust PKI solutions since Entrust introduced its first PKI.
About 3M
A recognized leader in research and development, 3M produces thousands of
innovative products for dozens of diverse markets. 3M's core strength is
applying its more than 40 distinct technology platforms -- often in combination
-- to a wide array of customer needs. With $24 billion in sales, 3M employs
79,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 60 countries. For more
information, visit us at http://www.3m.com/.
About Entrust
Entrust (NASDAQ: ENTU) secures digital identities and information for consumers,
enterprises and governments in more than 1,700 organizations spanning 60
countries. Leveraging a layered security approach to address growing risks,
Entrust solutions help secure the most common digital identity and information
protection pain points in an organization. These include SSL, authentication,
fraud detection, shared data protection and e-mail security. For information,
call 888-690-2424, e-mail entrust@entrust.com or 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.
Photo: NewsCom:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060720/NYTH074LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk,
photodesk@prnewswire.com
SOURCE: Entrust, Inc.
CONTACT: Brooke Hamilton, Media Relations of Entrust, Inc.,
+1-972-713-5915, brooke.hamilton@entrust.com; or Connie Thompson of 3M Public
Relations, +1-651-733-8914,
http://www.3m.com/PressContact
Web site: http://www.entrust.com/
http://www.3m.com/
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