Identity Management Systems, Logical and Physical Access, Convergence

Public Key Infrastructure Primer: Why is PKI important?

Thursday, January 21, 2010

In discussions of identity, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is often mentioned in the same breath as smart cards and biometrics. While the latter two are widely known and becoming familiar to their many users, PKI can still be confusing.

PKI stands behind the smart card and provides the platform for it to be successful. So with more digital identity documents being issued and PKI becoming more prevalent it’s important to get a handle on the technology. PKI can be expensive and could be hard to deploy when it was a new technique, but now it’s become mainstream and is commonly deployed in identity projects.

There are 1507 words in the rest of this article …

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Oracle Corporation has announced that its latest Java Card 3.0.4 platform will include support for NFC to enable secure communication between devices, reports Hothardware.com.

According to Oracle, Java Card enables smart cards and other devices with very limited memory to run small applications, called applets, that employ Java technology. Almost any type of smart card can use Java Card technology, including SIM cards, bank cards, government and health care IDs, smart transit tickets and physical and logical access control credentials.

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SAFE-BioPharma, a Ft. Lee, N.J.-based non-profit consortium of biopharmaceutical companies, is seeking nominations for its first Digital Identity Awards program. Nominees should recognize innovative uses of the global digital identity standard or institutions and individuals contributing to a broader understanding of its benefits.

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Eurosmart announced that more than 6 billion microprocessor based smart secure devices will be shipped in 2011. Double digit growth in the telecom, banking and government segments is set to continue in 2012 thanks to growth in telecom, NFC and banking.

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Exostar expanded its Managed Access Gateway identity management service offering to accept one-time password hardware tokens.

The gateway uses the Exostar-issued hardware tokens, as well as other forms of credentials such as basic level of assurance and medium level of assurance public-key infrastructure certificates and Common Access Cards, to control access to Exostar and other service provider applications connected to the Exostar Identity Hub.

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BIO-key International announced the results of tests performed on its biometric software and matching algorithm at a hospital over the past three months.

The results, which included 251,447 attempts to use biometrics for login to the testing system, ranked between 99.34% and 100% accuracy with zero false matches. This is a near 100% true accept rate and one staff member that logged in 5,999 in November without a single rejection.

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Cubic Transportation Systems’ Tri-Reader 3 has been approved by the top four bank card brands to process their contactless EMV cards for use in public transit systems.

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