Intercede Regulatory News (IGP)

27 Nov 2006 07:31

Intercede Group PLC27 November 2006 27 November 2006 INTERCEDE GROUP plc ('Intercede' or 'the Company') FURTHER RE PARTNERSHIP WITH GEMALTO IN THE US Intercede notes today's announcement by Gemalto that the highest ranking agencywithin the US Executive Branch of government has chosen Gemalto to provide cardmanagement services, including two-factor authentication technology, incompliance with the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12). Thisfollows Intercede's announcement on 16 November 2006 that its proprietary MyIDtechnology had been selected for this particular project. The full text of Gemalto's announcement is set out below. Highest Ranking Agency within U.S. Executive Branch Selects Gemalto to ProvideSecure Access Solution Amsterdam, Netherlands and Arlington, VA, November 27, 2006 - Gemalto (EuronextNL 0000400653 GTO), a world leader in digital security, today announces that thehighest ranking agency within the U.S. Executive Branch of Government has chosenGemalto to provide card management services, including two-factor authenticationtechnology, in compliance with the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12(HSPD-12). "As a single provider of FIPS 201 compliant digital security solutions -devices, applets,middleware and card management services - Gemalto is committedto delivering a platformfor secure access and security solutions to the federalgovernment," said Ernie Berger, president of Gemalto North America. "Oursolution underwent rigorous and thorough design, evaluation and testing and weare pleased that it was selected within such an influential agency in the U.S.Executive Branch." Gemalto has long been a major provider of strong authentication devices to theU.S. government. More than 12 million microprocessor-based smart cards are inuse today by several agencies, including the Department of Defense, which hasdeployed 11 million Common Access Cards (CAC) supplied by Gemalto. Under this contract, the comprehensive solution includes deployment and use ofpersonalized smart ID credentials for secure access to information systems andfederal buildings. In addition, Gemalto provides technical advice andintegration and delivery services. Intercede,a worldwide technology leader inthe field of smart card management solutions, is providing the card managementsystem within Gemalto's SafesITeTM Government solution. "This contract is of pivotal importance within the Federal identity marketplace. We are delighted to team with Gemalto to provide a fully operationaldeployment," commented Richard Parris, chairman and chief executive ofIntercede. "Along with our partner, Intercede is committed to making HSPD-12 asuccess across all U.S. Federal Agencies." About HSPD-12 and FIPS 201: Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) mandates that all U.S.federal agencies begin to issue their employees and subcontractors PersonalIdentity Verification (PIV) II cards. Standards to comply with the mandate havebeen defined by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in itspublication Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 201, PersonalIdentity Verification (PIV) of Federal Employees and Contractors. About the SafesITeTM Government Platform Under the agreement, Gemalto will deploy its Federal FIPS 201 compliant SafesITeGovernment Platform. The comprehensive solution includes everything needed to successfullydeploy and use personalized smart ID credentials for secure access to information systems andfederal buildings, as mandated by HSPD-12. The system consists of the followingcomponents, all approved by the GSA: • FIPS 201 72K Dual Interface Smart ID badges and applet for physical and ITaccess • SafesITe FIPS 201 client API middleware • FIPS 201 Card Management System (CMS) • Consulting, design and implementation services • Customer support About Gemalto Gemalto (Euronext NL 0000400653 GTO) is a leader in digital security with proforma 2005 annual revenues of $2.2 billion, operations in 120 countries and11,000 employees including 1,500 R&D engineers. The company's solutions makepersonal digital interactions secure and easy in a world where everything ofvalue -from money to identities- is represented as information communicated overnetworks. Gemalto thrives on creating and deploying secure platforms, portableand secure forms of software in highly personal objects like smart cards, SIMs,e-passports, readers and tokens. More than a billion people worldwide use thecompany's products and services for telecommunications, banking, e-government,identity management, multimedia digital rights management, IT security and otherapplications. Gemalto was formed in June 2006 by the combination of Axalto andGemplus International S.A. For more information please visit www.gemalto.com. ENDS About HSPD-12HSPD-12 is one of the most important and high profile security directives ofrecent years. It required, firstly, the creation of an official federal standard(FIPS-201) for Personal Identity Verification (PIV), which would prescribetechnologies and processes for the effective vetting and access control of allfederal employees and contractors. The second requirement of HSPD-12 was forevery US Federal Agency to have implemented a PIV solution by October 27, 2006,with all employees and contractors required to have a personal FIPS-201compliant, smart card based, PIV identity card one year later. Each of thesecards will be issued and managed using a management system such as MyID. All HSPD-12 solutions must by mandate only incorporate products that have beenexhaustively tested against by the US General Services Administration (GSA), andincluded in the GSA's Approved Product List for PIV products. Intercedeannounced on 4 October 2006 that it had become the first product in its categoryto achieve this coveted status. It is estimated that almost 8 million identity cards will be issued under thisprogramme. Industry analysts Stanford Group estimate the total value of theprogramme to be worth approximately US$1.3 billion. About IntercedeIntercede Group plc is a leading developer and supplier of smart card andidentity management software listed on the London Stock Exchange (IGP LN)(IGP.L). The Group's MyID software manages the secure registration, issuance andlifecycle of digital identities for a wide range of uses. This requires theintegration of multiple technologies and products from many different vendors,including smart cards, biometrics, digital certificates and Open Platformapplets. Intercede works with a number of market leading OEM, re-seller and technologypartners that supply MyID technology including: Athena Smartcard Solutions,Gemalto, RSA Security, SafeNet, Thales, VeriSign and a variety of systemsintegrators and other security product and service providers. Intercede and MyID are registered trademarks or trademarks in the UK, US and/orother countries. For more information visit http://www.intercede.com ENQUIRIES Intercede Group plc Tel. +44 (0)1455 558111Richard Parris, Chairman & Chief ExecutiveAndrew Walker, Finance Director Pelham Public RelationsArchie Berens Tel. +44 (0)20 7743 6679Kate Catchpole Tel. +44 (0)7803 033 43 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange