VeriSign and Gemplus Expand Strategic Relationship; To Develop Joint Smart Card/Digital Certificate Solution For Secure Network Applications
Business Wire - August 26, 1998 11:32
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 26, 1998--Gemplus(R) and VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) today announced they are expanding their already successful strategic relationship to target enterprises looking to secure online communications and commerce over the Internet and private IP networks. In the initial phase, Gemplus has chosen to bundle VeriSign's Digital IDs (sm) with GemSAFE, Gemplus' smart card-based solution for securing network transactions.
GemSAFE is a secure and portable, smart card-based solution for accessing corporate intranets, web sites, and email systems. It consists of a Gemplus smart card, a smart card reader, software (including Microsoft Corporation and Netscape Corporation browser suites), and a voucher for a VeriSign Digital ID. While GemSAFE is compatible with any x.509 certificate, Gemplus has selected VeriSign's Digital ID for GemSAFE users to download onto their smart card. Downloading the certificate is seamless, easy to do, and is accomplished at no additional cost. Users need only visit the GemSAFE website (www.gemplus.com/gemsafe) and follow the instructions to load and authenticate the card.
Basically, all the user has to do is insert a smart card into the smart card reader connected to the serial port of any Windows 95 or Windows NT computer. The user then activates the smart card through an online procedure that downloads an industry-standard "certificate" to the card.
Digital certificates are like "electronic credentials" which are unique and only issued when an individual or organization has been authenticated by a trusted third party such as VeriSign. Digital certificates allow individuals to digitally sign and encrypt messages so that only the intended recipient can read the message and have the piece of mind that the message has not been altered en route, either intentionally or by accident.
Smart cards are an ideal vehicle on which to store a digital certificate. Rather than storing the certificate on the users PC, GemSAFE makes it possible for authorized individuals to easily and securely access corporate information from any GemSAFE-equipped computer.
"We are most pleased to expand our longstanding relationship with VeriSign, the premier provider of digital authentication services and products," said Michel Roux, vice president and general manager of the Gemplus Internet and Information Technology Group. "Bundling VeriSign ID vouchers with GemSAFE makes the highest level of transaction security quickly and easily available to companies seeking to secure their networks. This is the first of many cooperative efforts on which Gemplus intends to partner with VeriSign."
"We are very excited to be working with Gemplus, a clear leader in providing smart card-based solutions, to help our combined enterprise customers with their security requirements," said Richard Yanowitch, vice president of Marketing for VeriSign. "This solution is ideal for enterprises looking to secure Internet-based applications or corporate Intranets and extranets."
Gemplus is currently using VeriSign's SET Service Provider platform in the e-COMM project in France, an electronic commerce implementation of SET with smart cards that targets several thousand households in France and involves Visa International, France Telecom, BNP, and Societe Generale.
Personalization
Gemplus not only can graphically personalize smart cards, it also has the capability to personalize smart cards with VeriSign Digital IDs at their manufacturing facilities. For large shipments, Gemplus can load IDs onto cards and then ship the cards directly to card holders, just as they do with bank cards today.
About Gemplus
Gemplus (http://www.gemplus.com) is the world's leading provider of plastic and smart card-based solutions. Gemplus sells magnetic stripe cards, memory and microprocessor-based smart cards, smart contactless cards, electronic tags and smart objects. The company designs and markets software, development tools and readers. Gemplus also provides consulting, training and personalization services to deliver the industry's most comprehensive and flexible card-based solutions to its developers, distributors, partners, and customers.
With sales of over US$590 million in 1997, Gemplus employs more than 4,100 people in ten manufacturing facilities, five R&D centers and 41 sales and marketing offices located in 27 countries around the world. Founded in 1988, Gemplus has successfully implemented portable and secure smart card-based solutions to simplify applications such as public and wireless communications, financial transactions, loyalty, transportation, education, healthcare, identity, physical access control, pay TV, electronic commerce, Internet security, logical access control and information technology.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) is the leading provider of Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and digital certificate solutions used by enterprises, Web sites and consumers to conduct secure communications and transactions over the Internet and private networks. VeriSign's enterprise PKI solutions are available through VeriSign regional account representatives, resellers, and global affiliates. The company's Digital IDs and Secure Server IDs are available through the company's Web site at www.verisign.com. For more information visit VeriSign's Web site at verisign.com.
(c) 1998 Gemplus Corporation. Gemplus is a registered trademark of Gemplus. Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: Dr. Patricia Neptune
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