Gemplus Launches Identity Management Solution Compliant with FIPS 201 Standard
Luxembourg and Arlington, Virginia (ots/PRNewswire)
- Gemplus SafesITe(TM) Smart Cards and Software First to Receive US Government Certification - now Ready to Help US Federal Agencies Meet October 2006 Deadline for Physical and Logical Access
Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM, NASDAQ: GEMP), a leading provider of secure card solutions, announces the launch of its SafesITe Government solution compliant with the US federal government's FIPS 201 regulations. Gemplus' solution will enable federal agencies to meet the HSPD-12 requirements for interoperability for government employees and contractors to access federal buildings and IT networks. As set forth in the presidential directive and regulations, all federal agencies must start to issue FIPS 201 compliant identity credentials by October 26 2006.
In response to the federal government's mandates, Gemplus has evolved its SafesITe Government offering originally launched in November 2004 and successfully deployed for the Transportation Security Administration's Transportation Workers Identification Credential (TWIC) program, to make it compliant with HSPD-12 and FIPS 201. The resulting SafesITe Government FIPS 201 solution is comprised of:
- Dual-interface 72KB smart cards (FIPS 201)
- FIPS 201 applets (PIV II)
- Desktop client software (Middleware)
- Smart card readers
- Centralized personalization services
- Smart Card Management System
- Professional services
The smart card and applet (which make up the smart ID badge) as well as the client software (which provides secure access to PCs and networks) used in SafesITe Government FIPS 201 have achieved Personal Identification Verification (PIV) compliance certification from the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The client software is the first of its kind to achieve this certification. This in effect places Gemplus on a short list of vendors to deliver a smart ID credential system to US federal agencies looking to comply with HSPD 12.
"The US government has strongly mandated to increase the security of its facilities and IT networks," said Ernie Berger, President Gemplus Americas. "To satisfy our customers' needs in time for the October 2006 deadline, we have released a certified, easy-to-integrate solution that agencies can quickly test and deploy."
The FIPS 201 certification confirms that the different components of Gemplus' SafesITe Government solution are interoperable with other vendors' products to ensure a seamless integration with agencies' complete physical and logical access systems. The new offering builds on Gemplus' experience as a major supplier of FIPS 140 credentials to government agencies such as US Dept. of Defense (Common Access Card), NASA, Dept. of Interior and Veterans Administration programs.
SafesITe Government FIPS 201 is now available for agencies to test and deploy. Notes to Editors
- HSPD-12 - Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) is a mandate to all federal executive departments and agencies to issue "secure and reliable forms of identification" to employees and contractors.
- FIPS 201 - Federal Information Processing Standard 201 is the ensuing NIST standard to address secure processes and attributes for the issuance, use, and interoperability of the identification credentials.
- PIV - Personal Identification Verification for federal employees and contractors
About Gemplus
Gemplus International S.A. (Euronext: LU0121706294 - GEM and NASDAQ: GEMP) is a world leading player in the secure card industry in both revenue and total shipments (source: Gartner-Dataquest 2005, Frost & Sullivan, Datamonitor). It has sold over 5.5 billion smart cards.
Gemplus delivers a wide range of portable, personalized solutions in areas including Identity, Mobile Telecommunications, Public Telephony, Banking, Retail, Transport, Healthcare, WiFi, Pay-TV, e-government, and access control.
Gemplus' revenue in 2005 was 939 million Euros.
www.gemplus.com
For more information:
Tim Cawsey
Gemplus
Tel: +1-484-904-7924
Email: tim.cawsey@gemplus.com
Niamh Mahon
Edelman
Tel: +1-212-704-8256
Email: niamh.mahon@edelman.com(c)2006 Gemplus. All rights reserved. Gemplus, SafesITe and the Gemplus logo, are trademarks and service marks of Gemplus S.A. and are registered in certain countries. All other trademarks and service marks, whether registered or not in specific countries, are the property of their respective owners.
Some of the statements contained in this release constitute forward-looking statements. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our or our industry's actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activities, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Actual events or results may differ materially. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those estimated by the forward-looking statements contained in this release include, but are not limited to: trends in wireless communication and mobile commerce markets; our ability to develop new technology, and the effects of competing technologies developed and expected intense competition generally in our main markets; profitability of our expansion strategy; challenges to or loss of our intellectual property rights; our ability to establish and maintain strategic relationships in our major businesses; our ability to develop and take advantage of new software and services; and the effect of future acquisitions and investments on our share price. Moreover, neither we nor any other person assumes responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of this release. We are under no duty to update any of the forward-looking statements after this date to conform such statements to actual results or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated results.
Contact:
For more information: Tim Cawsey, Gemplus, Tel: +1-484-904-7924,
Email: tim.cawsey@gemplus.com. Niamh Mahon, Edelman, Tel:
+1-212-704-8256, Email: niamh.mahon@edelman.com