Global Leaders Combine Forces to Provide Identity Security Documents for INTERPOL

DOHA, Qatar, DALLAS and KIEV, Ukraine, Nov. 9, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- ENTRUST, the U.S. company that provides identity-based security solutions for nine of the top 10 global e-governments, partnered with EDAPS, the Ukrainian consortium of high-tech companies, to provide INTERPOL with unprecedented, highly secure identification documents.

"The INTERPOL e-Identification Card and e-Passport Booklet developed by these two global leaders provide the highest security credentials for INTERPOL staff and law enforcement officers working on behalf of INTERPOL," said INTERPOL Secretary General Ronald K. Noble. "The credentials enable officials to identify themselves at international borders, at INTERPOL'S General Secretariat or any other INTERPOL facility, as well as to securely communicate from virtually any fixed or mobile location in the world."

The CEOs of both EDAPS and ENTRUST agreed that the development of the INTERPOL secure documents should trigger worldwide commitments to ensuring global security by enabling officials traveling on INTERPOL-related matters to quickly cross borders in order to respond to serious crime, disasters and participate in official events.

"These multipurpose credentials serve as ICAO-compliant travel documents to help securely authenticate INTERPOL credentials at border checkpoints around the world," said ENTRUST President and CEO Bill Conner. "And these credentials can be tailored for any environment, whether the need is for electronic machine-readable travel documents (eMRTD) or more advanced BAC and EAC ePassports.

"As testament to its breakthrough capabilities and value, the e-Identification Card also authenticates vetted digital identities for secure physical and logical access to INTERPOL facilities, networks, desktops and mobile devices. As deliberate attacks on government and enterprise identities continue to grow in number and sophistication, proper identity-based security needs to be applied."

INTERPOL Secretary General Noble, re-elected to a third five-year term this week, emphasized the critical need for protection of communication infrastructures amidst the 35 billion devices — fixed and mobile — connected to the Internet. INTERPOL relies on data from its 188 member countries and must ensure that people are who they claim to be, thus helping keep data and information in the right hands.

"The state-of-art INTERPOL e-Passport Booklet incorporates the highest security features, including laser engraving and holographic, micrographic and optical security elements," said EDAPS CEO Alexander Vassiliev.

Numerous countries have either granted recognition to the INTERPOL Travel Documents or are in the process of evaluating future recognition. Brazil has conducted a rigorous examination of the security features of both documents — the e-Passport booklet and the e-Identification card — and determined that they meet high level security standards.

The INTERPOL Travel Document initiative received approval from INTERPOL's Executive Committee in March 2009 and was presented to member countries for the first time at the INTERPOL General Assembly in Singapore in November 2009. Now, merely one year after its introduction, all of INTERPOL's 188 member countries have demonstrated their commitment to this unique initiative in the history of law enforcement through their official endorsement of the project at the 79th General Assembly in Doha thus ensuring the fulfillment of the initiative's core tenet: a rapid response for a safer world.

About ENTRUST

ENTRUST provides identity-based security solutions that empower enterprises, consumers, citizens and Web sites in more than 4,000 organizations spanning 60 countries. ENTRUST's identity-based approach offers the right balance between affordability, expertise and service. For strong authentication, fraud detection, digital certificates, SSL and PKI, call 888-690-2424, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.entrust.com.

About the EDAPS Consortium

The EDAPS Consortium was established by the leaders of high technologies in Ukraine and is the only group of companies in the world with the complete production cycle of enterprises for the manufacture and implementation of the most highly protected IDs and information systems. The passports and IDs manufactured by EDAPS have been recognized by the ICAO and OSCE as some of the best in the world. The Consortium produces E-passports and ID-cards for officers of the International Criminal Police Organization INTERPOL, and driving licenses issued by the Consortium have been highly evaluated by the European Union. The new Ukrainian ePassport, developed by EDAPS, is considered one of the best in the world and has been recognized by the United Nations for its secure functionality and biometric excellence.

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.

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Bill Conner

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SOURCE ENTRUST