450,000 and Counting ... Entrust Powers U.S. General Services Administration Past Monumental Milestone

DALLAS, March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of a wide-scale public key infrastructure (PKI) deployment, Entrust, Inc. has been issuing credentials, via a hosted service model, to the U.S. General Services Administration since July 2007 as part of the agency's USAccess program. Proving that PKI is still one of the elite security standards, the project achieved an important milestone this month as the GSA enrolled and activated its 450,000th PIV credential.

"Surpassing 450,000 issued credentials is an important benchmark and demonstrates that the wide-scale implementation was efficient thanks to all parties are involved," said USAccess program manager Stephen Duncan. "By leveraging proven PKI technology from Entrust, we were able to execute a mass-scale credentialing deployment that was straightforward for authorized government employees and contractors."

The GSA created the USAccess program to facilitate the deployment of the credentials. The program was developed in response to Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which requires federal agencies to issue a common identity credential. Over time, all existing federal government-issued badges will be replaced with a PIV-compliant credential.

While the GSA's PIV credentials provide users with physical access to secure buildings and facilities, the PKI certificate, issued from Entrust’s hosted federal PKI certification authority (CA), also enables employees to digitally sign documents and e-mails — promoting secure collaboration and increasing operational efficiency. GSA was issuing as many as 10,000 credentials a week during peak enrollment periods.

"The GSA, with an organized, well-thought out deployment model, has effectively demonstrated how a PKI and associated credentials can be systematically deployed on a mass scale," said Entrust President and CEO Bill Conner. "We congratulate the entire organization on such a successful project and are anxious to see how the PKI is scaled to address more and more security challenges going forward."

Each GSA credential includes four PKI certificates that are stored in a PIV container, which is in the circuit chip visible on the front of the credential. These four certificates specifically enable digital signatures, encryption, PIV authentication and card authentication. PIV credentials enable access to buildings and systems for which federal employees and contractors are authorized. Without a PIV credential, they may not be able to enter certain buildings, or will need to be registered as a guest.

Via a trusted PKI environment, Entrust enables U.S. government agencies to use authentication, encryption and digital signatures to maintain security standards through physical and online channels. By assigning digital certificates to authorized identities, departments and even devices, Entrust PKI serves as a trust infrastructure to help improve operational efficiency, help prevent fraud and information breaches and promote secure communication and collaboration on sensitive projects.

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. Optional components help organizations manage the entire lifecycle of PKI certificates. Approximately 1,000 government and commercial organizations have purchased Entrust PKI solutions since Entrust brought the first PKI to market in the 1990s. In addition, Entrust Managed Services PKI is a convenient hosted PKI service that is designed to eliminate upfront investment, in-house experts or the need for secure facilities.

Founded in 1949, GSA manages more than 11 percent of the government's total procurement dollars and $24 billion in federal assets, including 8,600 government-owned or leased buildings and 213,000 vehicles. GSA helps preserve our past and define our future, as a steward of more than 480 historic properties, and as manager of USA.gov, the official portal to federal government information and services.

GSA's mission to provide superior workplaces, expert technology solutions, acquisition services, purchasing and E-Gov travel solutions and management policies, at best value, allows federal agencies to focus on their core missions.

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.

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.

SOURCE Entrust, Inc.