The Secure Identity Alliance today welcomes three new members to its ranks, marking an important step in growth of the newly formed organisation.
HID Global, a leading provider of secure identity solutions, will play a crucial role in establishing the Alliance as the foremost advisor on the security and adoption of e-government services around the world.
American Banknote Corporation (ABnote) brings its long and global experience in the supply of secure documents, services and systems.
Backed by a 150-year heritage, Tr"ub AG brings a wealth of e-ID and e-passport experience to the Alliance's workgroup programme.
Led by leading secure e-documents companies Gemalto, Morpho (Safran), Oberthur Technologies and 3M, the Secure Identity Alliance was established in May 2013 to develop the usage of government-issued e-documents (identity, health cards, driving licences and e-passports in particular) for increased security, and to encourage deployment of secure, convenient online services, strengthening the privacy of the end-users. Already, two workgroups have been launched to tackle the ongoing security, identity and privacy challenges governments face. The 'Secure Documents' and 'Digital Identity' groups are expected to report back at Cartes, in November 2013.
Fr'ed'eric Trojani, Chairman of the Board of the Secure Identity Alliance, said: "I am delighted to welcome HID Global, ABnote and Tr"ub AG to the Secure Identity Alliance. With e-government initiatives on the rise, electronic identification has become a real catalyst for the rapid adoption of online services. Convenience, privacy protection and security are the three pillars of trust in modern, efficient electronic government services. The need for an independent forum able to address common areas of interest for all public and private stakeholders is clear to build today's generation of online services."
"Through the Alliance, we hope to play an instrumental role in helping governments streamline the integration and interoperability of new systems and processes - ultimately making government-to-citizen ID programmes more secure and effective," said Rob Haslam, Vice-President of Government ID Solutions for HID Global.
Uwe Ludwig, CEO International Business Unit, ABnote, said: "The challenges of meeting today's requirements - to provide secure solutions to governments that are also convenient for citizens - provides many opportunities for innovation and collaboration. We look forward to participating in the Secure Identity Alliance, and feel that, with our experience and expertise, ABnote can make a significant contribution."
Fernando Dal Zotto, CEO, Tr"ub AG, said: "The identity document market has evolved significantly since the introduction of the first polycarbonate ID card in the 1990s and the launch of the first electronic-ID documents in the 2000s. Novel use cases like e-voting have been developed and found great acceptance, yet mainly on a national scale only. In joining the Secure Identity Alliance, we can bring in our weight of expertise in order to support the collective effort to deliver rapid solutions to emerging challenges and to develop the market towards European solutions."
