Middle East Finance Houses Slow To Adopt Trusted Identity System
17 April 2004
Credit cards may work fine for simple purchases on the Internet, but they won't help find a new steel supplier overseas and close a million-dollar deal online.
That kind of commerce is taking place offline because the Middle East still lacks trust in the Internet for high-stakes business.
Throughout the rest of the world, an organisation is emerging which is toppling the final barrier to global business-to-business Internet commerce: trust in trading partners' electronic identities.
Called Identrus, it was founded by ABN Amro, Bank of America, Bankers Trust, Deutsche Bank, Chase Manhattan, Citigroup and HypoVereinsbank.
More than 60 financial institutions worldwide have now clubbed together to become part of the system. Together they represent more than 166 countries and millions of business relationships.
So far, however, Middle East banks and financial institutions appear to be slow to appreciate the huge benefits of joining up with the trusted international network system that goes far beyond the current, simple on-line banking or payment verification services.
That could be about to change after a keynote presentation next month at The Identity Summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, by John G. Bullard, Vice President and Global Ambassador for Identrus.
Companies lack trust in Internet identities, whether they have in e-mail, on a World Wide Web page, or even a supposedly secure digital certificate.
Identrus works by providing trusted identities secure identities that can be used for authentication and authorisation in all situations where they are needed, with common, consistent, legal and liability coverage.
Trusted identities can be used to:
* Sign legally binding documents replacing ink signatures on mortgages, leases, contracts and other forms of documentation
* Provide physical access to buildings, documents or information
* Provide electronic access to networks, websites, documents, email or other information
* Provide encrypted, secure sharing of information across the web
* Enable initiation of transactions, like funds transfers or release of inventory, with associated audit, non-repudiation and liability coverage
* Authorise steps in workflows, combining signing with process management
* Enable electronic identification of component parts of a network, such as ATM machines, disk drives, routers or other physical connections
* Eliminate website phishing or spoofing
This global system solves once and for all the trust barrier to e-commerce, said Mr Bullard. The system also provides a foundation for secure e-mail, e-marketplaces, international trade, contract signing, online payments, commercial banking and much more.
Identrus are just one of the high level international and regional contributors to The Identity Summit in Dubai from 16 to 18 May, which also incorporates the 2nd Middle EastBiometrics Forum.
Some of the debates are straight out of the pages of science fiction to science fact. For example, the wide varieties of amazing applications of miniature smart tag technology are to be explored at The Identity Summit.
Japanese workers shoes that open doors and medicine bottles that speak are just two of the many unusual uses for these tiny identification devices.
Smart tags more formally known as Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) use radio waves to transmit information from a tagged object to a special reader. This allows the exact position or even nearby presence of an object, animal or person to be detected.
The Identity Summit will also include leading edge debates on:
* Iris-based Tracking And Border Control aMiddle Eastcase study
* Identity In The Field an Afghanistancase study
* Integrating Physical And Application Access Control
* The Identity Matrix
* Company-wide Identity Management a Middle Eastcase study
* The Convergence Of Physical And Logical Security
* A Pan-Arab e-Card
* Traveller Identity Management
* Implementing A National ID Project a Middle Eastcase study
* Electronic ID Cards For Citizens
-Ends-
NOTES FOR EDITORS
There are no Middle East participants so far in the Identrus system. International financial participants are:
Abbey National, ABN Amro, Allied Irish Bank, ANZ, Banca di Roma, Banca Lombarda, Banca Monte Deit Paschi Siena, Banca Nazional Del Lavoro, Banco Sabadell, Banco Sandandar Central Hispano, Banesto, Bank Leumi, Bank of America, Bank of Ireland, Bank of Montreal, Bank of Scotland, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Barclays, BBVA, BNP Paribas, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Chohung Bank, Citigroup, The Co-operative Bank, Commerzbank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Credit Agricole France, Credit Lyonnais, Den Norske Bank, Dresdner Bank, Fleet Boston, HSBC Group, HypoVereinsbank, ING Group, J.P. Morgan Chase, Korea Exchange Bank, LBBW, Lloyds TSB, Mizuho Corporate Bank, National Australia Bank, Nordea, PNC Financial Services Group, Royal Bank of Scotland, SanPaolo, Scotiabank, SEB Bank, Societe Generale, Standard Chartered Bank of Hong Kong, Standard Chartered Bank of South Africa, S! umitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Unicredito, UFJ Bank, Wachovia, Wells Fargo Wholesale Internet Services, WestLB, Westpac Banking Corp.
Identix are the Corporate Sponsors of The Identity Summit and Datastrip are Associate Sponsors. Official media partner is the Security Advisor Middle East and other supporters are: Biometric Digest, Biometric Watch, Biometrics Institute, International Institute for Biometrics, Middle East Security, Card World, Fraud Watch and the International Security Industry Organisation.
To find out more visit www.iirme.com/idsummit
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Annick Nuyens
Marketing Manager
Tel + 971-4-336 5161 ext 163
Chris Mullinger
Conference Director
Tel +971 4-336 5161 ext 170
© Press Release 2004
zawya.com
The IDentity Summit
May 16 - May 18 2004 Crowne Plaza Hotel Dubai
Identix is present.
iirme.com
Day Two - Monday, 17 May 2004
9:00 Chairman’s Keynote
The Identity Matrix
Mustafa Yusuf Koita, Strategic Alliances Manager
Identix, UK
A current assessment of the biometrics industry, real world government procurement and deployment trends, and the development of government biometric roadmaps.
• Identix is the largest biometric company in the world. Mustafa manages partner relationships for Fortune 500, blue chip companies and international partners that provide solutions based on Identix technology and platforms. Mustafa’s interactions with Middle East governments and companies; the US Government - Department of Defense; the world’s largest defense and security contractors; and many intelligence and law enforcement agencies, give him a unique outlook on the past, present, and future of the biometrics industry. Mustafa’s leadership has enabled key biometric initiatives within the Middle East.
10:00 CASE STUDY: Company-wide, World-wide Identity Management: Aramco
Sami A. Al-Ajmi, Lead Project Engineer, Industrial Security Planning & SSD
Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia
The Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco), the world's largest oil producing company, is introducing an identity management solution covering thousands of employees worldwide. Aramco is instituting the programme to enroll employees via fingerprint biometrics to help ensure they can identify them and provide privileges and benefits based on identification that cannot be duplicated, lost or stolen. The Aramco Identity Management system will enable fingerprints that are initially used for background checks, to be used in future for biometric-based employee ID cards, as well as for physical and logical access.
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