State Uses PKI for HSPD-12

DALLAS -- In support of the U.S. Department of State’s effective and efficient approach, Entrust, Inc. [NASDAQ: ENTU] praised the agency for successfully meeting a high-profile Presidential directive. The agency recently used their embedded public key infrastructure (PKI) from Entrust to comply with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12). The Department’s strategy clearly supports the intention behind HSPD-12 of standardizing security while making smart use of taxpayer dollars.

On Oct. 27, the Department of State successfully issued six Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards and fully met the HSPD-12 requirements, which mandated a single credential for both full physical and logical access. The directive stated that each government agency must have the ability to issue at least one PIV card by October 27, 2006. The Department issued three PIV cards to State personnel, two to the Peace Corps and one to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Per the directive, each government employee and contractor will be assigned a PIV card no later than October 2008. Since meeting the October 2006 deadline, the Department of State has proceeded with deployment as planned.

“In order to stretch limited IT resources and budget, the Department of State proactively adapted their embedded PKI solution to meet the requirements of the HSPD-12 mandate,” said Entrust Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Bill Conner. “This strategy embraced the direction of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and has proven to be an efficient, cost-effective tactic that enhances IT safeguards across the entire agency and its overseas embassies.”

Entrust Inc.