U.S. Postal Service to Introduce E-Identity Validation
A new service to provide individuals with identity validation for the purpose of
obtaining electronic signature digital certificates will begin a
nationwide rollout in two weeks, the U.S. Postal Service announced
here Wednesday.
The certificate could then be embedded in postal-issued smartcards
and used to conduct highly sensitive electronic transactions. This
service will be available only to government employees in 46 post
offices on the east coast by the middle of this month and will
expand nationwide by this fall.
There are currently 1,400 post offices around the country that
verify identity and date of birth of individuals applying for
passports. The postal employee receives this information from the
individual at the time of application using documents specified by
the State Department.
This infrastructure will be used to validate identity for digital
certificates and digital signatures. At launch, this service will
act as an enhancement to the recently introduced NetPost.Certified,
which is a service created specifically for government agencies to
secure and authenticate electronic correspondence using smartcards
and smartcard readers.
“We are providing solutions for the business of life,” said Kearney,
Senior Vice President of the U.S. Postal Service. “We believe our
combination of trust, security and privacy are exactly the
attributes that can help American consumers and businesses realize
the potential of the Internet.”
A new executive level position of Chief Privacy Officer has been
created within the U.S. Postal Office to ensure that privacy is
maintained and enhanced in the electronic realm.
Copyright 2001 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY
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Copyright 2001 Xinhua. All Rights reserved. News Provided by
COMTEX. Source : World Reporter (Trade Mark)
COMTEX, 07th March 2001
