Gemalto Selected for the National Identity Project of Portugal
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AMSTERDAM, February 16/ -- This ID Program Will Involve More Than 2 Million Cards per Year After the Roll-Out, and is the First ID Project in Europe Based on Identification Authentication Signature (IAS) Specifications
Gemalto (Euronext NL0000400653 GTO), a world leader in digital security, today announces that it has been selected by Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda (INCM), the Portuguese Mint and National Printing Office, to provide the solution for the national e-ID card including the secure operating system, the personalization system and applications, the middleware and associated helpdesk services. A first pilot phase is starting today in the Acores region, and in mid-run, all Portuguese citizens should be able to use these high-end cards including a built-in biometrics feature (fingerprint) as their national ID document.
This smart card, the size of the credit card, will be the official ID document for Portuguese citizens and incorporates extended printing security features. It will also enable citizens to communicate with their government administrations in a simple, fast and more secure manner.
This new called "Citizen Card" will include several id-numbers such as civil identification, taxpayer, social security and health and will also replace, in the future, the elector card. A variety of e-government services will be available through the electronic identification provided by the new Citizen Card. The cardholder has a secret pin code to identify and authenticate himself/herself, and the card generates a, legally-binding digital signature for secure declarations and administrative procedures. This application will provide the required cryptographic means for secure access to e-government services portal and digital signature for electronic exchanges. Another application, which access is electronically restricted to forensic and police authorities, will perform the identity verification through fingerprint check.
"The digital security technology requested to implement our e-ID program is crucial to the e-government global approach towards citizens: it is not only about managing credentials, it is about facilitating and increasing the quality of the relations between citizens and public services on a national level, moving them to next steps" says Jose I. Toscano, executive director and member of the Board at INCM. "Recent programs such as the electronic passport compliant with international standards, or the tachograph identification system for professional truck drivers and road transportation control show the INCM commitment to supply the public administration of Portugal with the most advanced documents for the functioning of the State. With such important nation-wide programs, we are very happy to produce state-of-art secure documents and consistently partner with a world digital security leader, Gemalto." He adds.
Jacques Seneca, president of Europe at Gemalto, comments:
"Gemalto is very proud to contribute to the Portuguese ID program, the first European ID project based on IAS specifications. Portuguese citizens will enjoy the IAS benefits and Portugal sets the pace for national ID cards interoperability throughout Europe."
About Gemalto
Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is a leader in digital security with pro forma 2006 annual revenues of EUR1.7 billion, operations in about 100 countries and over 10,000 employees including 1,500 R&D engineers.
In a world where the digital revolution is increasingly transforming our lives, Gemalto's solutions are designed to make personal digital interactions more convenient, secure and enjoyable.
Gemalto provides end-to-end digital security solutions, from the development of software applications through design and production of secure personal devices such as smart cards, SIMs, e-passports, and tokens to the management of deployment services for its customers.
More than a billion people worldwide use the company's products and services for telecommunications, financial services, e-government, identity management, multimedia content, digital rights management, IT security, mass transit and many other applications.
As the use of Gemalto's software and secure devices increases with the number of people interacting in the digital and wireless world, the company is poised to thrive over the coming years.
Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto and Gemplus.
For more information please visit www.gemalto.com
About INCM
Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda (INCM), the Portuguese Official Printing Office and Mint, is a limited company of public founds. The enterprise is in charge of producing goods and services essential to the functioning of the Portuguese State, such as minting metal coin and issuing official publications, including namely the Government's journal "Diario da Republica".
The production of security documents of new generation such as the Electronic Passport, Digital Tachograph Card and the future Citizen Card is a great challenge to INCM. The evolution that the new technologies underwent turned this activity into a strategic area for the company's development, enabling INCM to supply the Public Administration with the most advanced and secure identity documents, at the same time as the company is going deeper into the market so as to be able to respond to the needs of a wide range of companies and organizations.
The authentication of precious metal artifacts and the publishing of essential works of the Portuguese and universal culture complete the range of activities that define the business profile of INCM.
For more information please visit www.incm.pt
Gemalto
Media
Emmanuelle Saby
T: +33-1-55-01-57-27
M: +33-6-09-10-76-10
Emmanuelle.saby@gemalto.com
TBWACorporate
Emlyn Korengold
T: +33-1-49-09-66-51
M: +33-6-08-21-93-74
emlyn.korengold@tbwa-corporate.com
Source: Gemalto
