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Security Industry Rallies with Digital Identity Assurance Leader ActivIdentity as Presidential Homeland Security Deadline Nears
ActivIdentity Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-12)/FIPS 201 Certified Smart Card Solution Now Commercially Available to Improve Security, Enhance Commerce and Protect Privacy
Fremont, Calif, September 12, 2006 - ActivIdentity Corporation (NASDAQ: ACTI), a global leader in digital identification for government and enterprise, today announced the support of the security industry's leading technology companies for ActivIdentity's next-generation ultra secure, open smart card management and client platforms merging both physical and logical security access in a single Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS 201) compliant system. (For additional information and quotes click here)
The National Institute of Standards and Initiatives (NIST) responded to HSPD-12 by issuing FIPS 201, which identified smart cards as the device to be used to provide the security and rapid electronic authentication to verify the identity of individuals accessing government resources globally. The rapidly approaching October 27, 2006 deadline for HSPD-12 mandates government agencies to deploy FIPS 201-certified Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards, which incorporate identity assurance and strong authentication practices utilizing PKI and biometric fingerprint credentials on a single cryptographic smart card for increased security of both facility and network access.
ActivIdentity has worked with many government agencies and leaders in the industry to create an end-to-end FIPS 201 PIV solution set that incorporates ActivIdentity's industry leading smart card and credential management systems (ActivIdentity CMS 4.0) and smart card client software (ActivIdentity ActivClient 6.0) products. This industry integration reduces the cost, time and risk of deployment for customers.
"Government working with industry leaders has created a digital identification security standard that addresses the employee needs of both government and businesses internationally as the two sectors place greater demand on secure electronic interaction and information sharing," said Jason Hart, CEO of ActivIdentity. "Providing employees with a trusted digital identity enables them to securely access information and facilities, communicate, as well as digitally sign documents and transactions, while protecting their data."
"The FIPS 201 PIV standards will transform an industry that has been largely proprietary, enabling the growth and development of a broad range of global applications that utilize PIV cards and credentials. ActivIdentity and our partners are continuing to push the envelope by providing open, advanced, secure digital identity assurance solutions that address the convergence of physical and logical systems enabled by these standards," added Hart.
Industry leaders supporting ActivIdentity to deliver FIPS 201 PIV solutions include: identity management systems companies Novell, Inc. and Sun Microsystems, Inc.; systems integrators Alternative Technology, General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), Maximus, Inc. and Unisys Corporation; certificate authority vendor Entrust, Inc.; identity verification systems vendors Daon, ImageWare Systems, Inc. and Probaris Technologies; physical security systems company Lenel Systems International, Inc.; and smart card manufacturers Gemalto and Oberthur Card Systems Corporation. (For additional information and quotes click here)
ActivIdentity, with its partners, has been selected as the provider of smart card-based identity solutions by more government agencies than any other provider, including one of the world's largest smart card deployments for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the recently announced (Apptis: August 30, 2006) Transportation Security Administration implementation with the new ActivIdentity PIV-compliant solution. ActivIdentity has also deployed smart card systems to many other innovative government agencies that lead the development of smart card usage and standards including the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Interior andFBI..
ActivIdentity's Open Platform
ActivIdentity provides two essential components of the complete FIPS 201 PIV solution; its industry leading smart card management system, ActivIdentity CMS 4.0, and ActivIdentity ActivClient 6.0 desktop authentication software, the first to be FIPS-201 certified by NIST. This complete smart card solution provides issuance, life cycle management of PIV cards, plus usage applications and post-issuance capability. Leveraging the ActivIdentity platform with its extensive application programming interfaces (APIs), system integrators and solutions partners are working with ActivIdentity to provide a complete PIV solution, including:
- Identity management and provisioning
- Identity verification and proofing
- Physical security integration
- Government certified shared service provider PKI
- Certificate validation
- Biometrics
ActivIdentity CMS 4.0 goes beyond the requirements of the HSPD-12 mandate, and the FIPS 201 standard, by providing end-to-end security for the issuance and lifecycle management for PIV cards, plus post issuance capability to update data, credentials and applications for cards in the field. ActivIdentity CMS 4.0 now enables customers to comply with the HSPD-12 mandate by issuing FIPS 201 certified smart cards, either face to face, locally within government agencies, or through central service bureau card production facilities. ActivIdentity CMS 4.0 integrates seamlessly with other components of a PIV solution such as identity management systems, physical access control systems, enrollment and identity proofing systems, and central production facilities. Many leading software vendors have already integrated their solutions with ActivIdentity CMS 4.0, including: Novell, Inc., Sun, Inc., IBM Corporation, Lenel Systems International, Inc., Honeywell, Imageware Systems, Inc., Daon, Probaris Technologies and L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc. (formerly ViiSage), among others including PKI providers, Entrust, Inc. and Cybertrust.
ActivClient 6.0 enables government employees and contractors to use PIV Cards for many day-to-day applications such as PKI login to Windows, Solaris and Linux workstations; authentication for Web, wireless networks, remote access, thin clients, secure e-mail; as well as to digitally sign documents and transactions. When used with ActivIdentity SecureLogin eSSO, the PIV card secures single sign-on access to applications.
ActivClient 6.0 is the only client software with backward and forward compatibility for multiple standards and support for smart cards from all card vendors approved by DOD, and can be securely upgraded remotely to support additional standards or future versions of PIV.
"Our open support for multiple standards including CAC, GSCIS and PIV is a key competitive advantage that ActivIdentity offers our customers," Jason Hart said. "This flexibility allows them to preserve their existing investments and enables a smooth migration to new smart card standards as they evolve. One example of the advantage of ActivIdentity's open platform is the upgrade path provided to the U.S. Department of Defense utilizing ActivIdentity CMS and ActivClient to transition DOD's 3.5 million smart card users to meet FIPS 201 requirements without having to reissue their existing cards."
About ActivIdentity
ActivIdentity (formerly ActivCard) is the trusted provider of digital identity assurance solutions for the enterprise, government, healthcare, and financial services markets worldwide. The company provides the only fully- integrated platform for the secure issuance, management and use of single secure digital identities.
The ActivIdentity platform allows users to access information communicate and conduct electronic transactions anywhere, anytime, regardless of differing security requirements and authentication challenges. Solutions include secure remote access, single sign-on, large scale enterprise access card systems, and multi-channel identification and verification.
More than 15 million users and 4,000 customers worldwide rely on solutions from ActivIdentity. Headquartered in
Fremont, Calif., the company has development centers in the United States, Australia, France, and sales and service centers in more than ten countries. For more information, visit www.actividentity.com.
NOTE: ActivIdentity, ActivIdentity CMS, ActivIdentity ActivClient, ActivIdentity Secure Login and ActivCard are registered trademarks in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners in the United States and/or other countries.
ActivIdentity and its Industry-Leading Partners Delivering PIV Solutions:
Distributors and Systems Integrator Partners
Aternative Technology, Inc, the leading specialty distributor of government-approved security solutions works closely with ActivIdentity, making its card management system and related vendor partners and products available to authorized VARS and systems integrators through Alternative Technology's GSA Schedule (GS-35F 0296R).
"The strength of ActivIdentity Card Management Systems, supported by Alternative Technology's technical services organization, will ensure that VARs and systems integrators in the US can deliver the products and services that are needed for efficient and effective HSPD deployments," said John Stubbs, vice president of business development, Alternative Technology.
"Together, we will focus on identifying and capturing new federal government and security related opportunities and also work closely with VARs across the country who are actively engaged in both the state and local markets. We offer one point of contact for resellers, regardless of the end user, to buy best-of-breed products and integrated solutions from ActivIdentity and other select Alternative Technology's vendors who are participating in our GSA Schedule, supported by our go-to-market plans, integrated solutions, and security consulting and technical services."
MAXIMUS, Inc. " provides HSPD-12 program and project management support services, PIV component and systems integration services, and end-to-end PIV solutions incorporating ActivIdentity CMS, and LACS and PACS integration utilizing ActivClient for logical access.
"MAXIMUS and ActivIdentity were a very successful team in some of the early, high profile smart card credentialing programs in the federal government, prior to HSPD-12; now in the new environment, MAXIMUS looks forward to expanding its PIV program management and integration services, at the federal and state level, by offering solutions that incorporate the latest ActivIdentity suite of PIV software products," stated Kirk Brafford, Vice President, Security Solutions Division, MAXIMUS, Inc.
General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) was one of the first integrators approved by GSA under schedule 70 to offer complete end-to-end services to federal agencies for HSPD-12. ActivIdentity's solution is fully integrated into MobileID™ - GDIT's mobile demonstration and development laboratory for FIPS 201 solutions " and is a regular partner for both the federal identity as well as the first responder markets. When a customer asks to see GDIT total solution for HSPD-12, they will find that ActivIdentity forms a key part of the solutions underpinnings.
"Our choice in selecting ActivIdentity for Card Management Services was basically two fold. We first and foremost wanted to select products that had market maturity, not just in terms of the time they have been in the market, but additionally how well they were integrated with other existing products on the market," said Scott Price, VP and General Manager, General Dynamics IT. "The second thing we looked for was flexibility. Knowing that standards would be migrating, and that the current market has a mix of products out there, we wanted to work with a company that was both very established, and very flexible. ActivIdentity has a great offering in both respects, and has been an excellent partner for GDIT."
Unisys ­Corporation is a worldwide technology services and solutions company with expertise in consulting, systems integration, outsourcing, infrastructure, and server technology to help our clients achieve secure business operations.
"Unisys has been working with the ActivIdentity CMS in its eID and HSPD-12 demonstration centers for a while and is pleased to support the FIPS 201 solution set. Unisys experience with large identity management projects, coupled with ActivIdentity's credential management expertise, offers global customers proven, field-tested identity solutions with worldwide support," said Mike Gibbons, vice president, global enterprise security services, Unisys.
Identity Verfication Systems
ImageWare Systems, Inc. is a leading developer and provider of identity management solutions, providing biometric, secure credential, law enforcement and digital imaging technologies.
"ImageWare and ActivIdentity have been long-time partners providing government and industries with the ability to manage the issuance and lifecycle of digital identities and credentials," said Jim Miller, chairman and CEO of ImageWare Systems. "This announcement exemplifies the flexibility and interoperability of ImageWare's complete HSPD-12 PIV solution. Partners such as ActivIdentity can take advantage of our components to help meet the needs of Federal agencies. We are pleased to be working with ActivIdentity to help agencies comply with HSPD-12."
Daon is a leading provider of identity assurance software products focused on meeting the needs of governments and commercial organizations worldwide. Daon supports customers and system integrators in building enterprise solutions requiring the highest level of security, performance, scalability, reliability and privacy.
"The Daon and ActivIdentity partnership represents the success and excellence generated when leading providers of technology work together. Daon and ActivIdentity have integrated their HSPD-12 products to provide the most capable, integrated end-to-end FIPS-201 HSPD-12 solution. The initial successes and positive feedback from the customer community has been very positive." remarked Tom Grissen, CEO Daon.
Probaris Technologies SP/PIV is unique among the products available in the secure credential issuance market. It provides a feature-rich business process management (BPM) system, and a credential issuance identity management system in a single software platform. Probaris' SP/PIV is a packaged HSPD-12 Identity Management System (IDMS) that automates and manages the PIV business process. The product is complete with pre-configured processes for credential issuance, re-issuance, revocation, and termination. The product enforces separation of roles and provides for automatic generation of unique identification numbers for PIV credentials making it a natural fit for the Government's HSPD-12 and e-Authentication requirements.
"FIPS 201 is a great achievement for the US Government and requires a lot of collaboration from the private sector to assist the government to achieve compliance. By pairing the Probaris SP platform with the ActivIdentity CMS, we are able to assist our customers in meeting their HSPD-12 timelines and goals. A pre-integrated HSPD-12 System Infrastructure Software Bundle reduces cost and risk in system implementation." said Jim Bensman, CEO of Probaris.
Identity Management Systems
Novell. Inc., is a leading provider of identity and security management solutions and provides a proven identity assurance solution that is integrated with ActivIdentity's Smart Card Credential Management System. The two companies enjoy a long standing, mutually beneficial partnership based on meeting customer requirements in the enterprise single sign-on and advanced authentication markets.
"Novell Identity Manager is a highly scalable enterprise-class Identity Management System that integrates identity information and automates provisioning processes across your IT infrastructure," said Nick Nikols, vice president of product management for identity and security management at Novell. "Connecting Novell's IDMS with ActivIdentity's card management system is a logical extension for Novell as we help customers deploy more secure, smart card based solutions. Our ability to integrate identity verification and proofing, provisioning of logical and physical access systems provides a world class Identity Assurance platform for achieving PIV compliance."
Sun Microsystems, Inc. is partnering with ActivIdentity to offer a joint solution that combines the Sun Java™ System Identity Management Suite with ActivIdentity's Card Management System and Enterprise Single Sign-On. The combination allows organizations to link physical and network security access and incorporate strong two-factor authentication to network resources and applications, which helps businesses improve security, maintain regulatory compliance and reduce administrative costs, and helps government agencies and contractors comply with the U.S. government's HSPD-12 security directive.
"Sun Microsystems is pleased that ActivIdentity has chosen to support Sun Java System Identity Manager with the ActivIdentity Certified Smart Card Solution," said Rob Beauchamp, senior director of product management and marketing at Sun Microsystems. "Working together, our respective products provide a combined solution that enables customers to achieve compliance with HSPD-12 guidelines, provision users and deploy smart cards with the knowledge that they are dealing with market-leading vendors."
Certificate Authorities
Entrust, Inc. has extensive government security expertise and a large footprint of certification authority deployments in agencies across the US Government. Its solutions, which are fully integrated with ActivIdentity's Card Management System and ActivClient, provide a unified approach to issuing and managing HSPD-12 compliant digital identities and information security across a wide variety of devices, applications, platforms and environments.
"Strong authentication must be supported by a fully interoperable ecosystem that incorporates world class solutions, like ActivIdentity's Certified Smart Card Solution and Entrust's strong authentication platform. The HSPD-12 guidelines have raised the bar for governments around the world and at every level to incorporate stronger security measures to protect sensitive data, and we are pleased to contribute to this trusted environment," said Entrust Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Conner.
Physical Security Systems
Lenel Systems International, Inc"Lenel OnGuard® is an industry-leading security platform that seamlessly integrates access control, identity management, alarm monitoring, digital video surveillance and management, intelligent video, biometric technology integration, intrusion detection, visitor management and smart card functionality. OnGuard integrates with the ActivIdentity CMS to leverage its smart card and credential issuance and lifecycle management capabilities.
"Lenel has worked with ActivIdentity to develop the interaction of physical and logical security for the benefit of our customers. From the onset, both of our companies understood the need and value of sharing information between the IT and security domains," said Michael Regelski, chief technology officer, Lenel. "Lenel has engineered the IdentityDefender and OnGuard ID CredentialCenter applications to provide customers with a single solution for managing and issuing a credential that will meet the needs of any functional area within an organization."
Smart Card Manufacturers
Gemalto, the world's largest provider of smart card products and services, offers its new GCX4 72K PIV certified smart card platform to address the requirements of HSPD-12. This new Gemalto card joins the range of cards supported by the ActivIdentity CMS including CyberFlex Access and GemXpresso.
"Gemalto and ActivIdentity have a long and successful track working together to meet the needs of numerous government agencies including deployments at DoD, VA, FBI and others," said Neville Pattinson, Director of Marketing and Government Affairs, Gemalto. "Together our companies have delivered systems compatible with multiple generations of smart card standards including CAC, GSCIS and now PIV."
Oberthur Card Systems Corporation is one of the world's leading providers of card-based solutions, software and applications including SIM and multi-application smart cards as well as services ranging from consulting to personalization. Oberthur and ActivIdentity have been business partners for years delivering smart card solutions for government and enterprise.
"We are pleased to see Actividentity meet this major milestone in the Federal Community and beyond. Through the close interaction between Oberthur and the Government Agencies, the ActivIdentity solution resolves business and technology hurdles that achieve proper economies of scale and security via Oberthur's Total ID-One credential manufacturing and personalization solution for HSPD-12," said Patrick W. Hearn, Director Government ID Markets, Oberthur Card Systems
About ActivIdentity
ActivIdentity (formerly ActivCard) is the trusted provider of digital identity assurance solutions for the enterprise, government, healthcare, and financial services markets worldwide. The company provides the only fully-integrated platform for the secure issuance, management and use of single secure digital identities.
The ActivIdentity platform allows users to access information, communicate and conduct electronic transactions anywhere, anytime, regardless of differing security requirements and authentication challenges. Solutions include secure remote access, single sign-on, large scale enterprise access card systems, and multi-channel identification and verification.
More than 15 million users and 4,000 customers worldwide rely on solutions from ActivIdentity. Headquartered in Fremont, Calif., the company has development centers in the United States, Australia, France, and sales and service centers in more than ten countries. For more information, visit www.actividentity.com.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These risks and uncertainties include risks relating to changes to our management team, the integration of acquired business and technologies, and other risks identified under the caption "Risk Factors" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, which are filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Copies of these filings are available from the Company and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially from our forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
ActivIdentity and ActivCard are registered trademarks in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners in the United States and/or other countries.
Editorial Contact
Tim Polakowski
McGrath/Power Public Relations
+1 408-727-0351
timp@mcgrathpower.com