Post.Trust, the e-security division of the Irish Post Office, selects Arcot to provide nation-wide digital user authentication

Arcot Systems, Inc., the leading provider of solutions for securing e-business in Internet-scale, transactional and wireless environments, today announced that it has signed a deal with Post.Trust, the e-security division of Ireland's national postal service An Post, to distribute Arcot digital identities. These identities are validated through face-to-face verification as part of the Post.Trust certification process.

In the future this technology could see digital identities (ArcotID(tm)) provided to the entire population of 4 million.

The Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) has been introduced and managed by Post.Trust, Ireland's leading Certification Service Provider. Post.Trust deals with private, corporate, financial and sensitive information on a daily basis, giving rise to an understanding of the importance of online security and authentication.

Post.Trust will make ArcotIDs(tm) available to the entire Irish population as part of it's encrypted email product, SafeMail. Arcot's strong authentication solution will provide a digital user identity that can be used to sign e-mail and conduct business on the Internet.

SafeMail will initially be released to Irish businesses later this summer.

Post.Trust will be the only digital certificate provider to fully certify each member through face-to-face enrolment in any of An Post's automated postal outlets or certified Post.Trust agents. Customers will be required to show their passport for identification and in return will receive a credit card sized CD-ROM containing their digital certificates and ArcotID.

This will allow Post.Trust to verify the identity of each digital certificate holder, providing an end-to-end secure and trusted email network. It is hoped that the system will form the basis of a secure online network that will allow contract signings and financial transactions to be conducted via email.

Speaking in Dublin today, John Cronin, Managing Director of Post.Trust said that the future of Ireland's e-business is utterly dependent on the development of secure solutions to deliver flexible fine-grained access.

"With this in mind we are combining strong authentication, face-to-face verification and digital certification to provide our customers with a security infrastructure that confirms beyond all doubt the identity of on-line consumers, he explained.

"We invested significant time and resources in examining all the available options and many proved severely deficient on the grounds of cost efficiency and technological capability, particularly when reviewed from a legislative or technical perspective. In contrast, we found Arcot's software-only solution to be cost-effective, technologically superior, easy-to-use and ultimately secure," Mr Cronin concluded.

The Arcot solution is based on Arcot's WebFort(tm) authentication product.

This gives each individual an ArcotID, which stores an individual's digital credentials in a tamperproof software container that can only be activated using a PIN number known only to the user. The software container is protected by Arcot's patented cryptographic solution 'Cryptographic Camouflage', and is impervious to any direct offline hacker.

The ArcotID has a small memory 'footprint' and can be easily downloaded to any device the user chooses from their PC to a PDA or a mobile phone. The user can keep their ArcotID on multiple devices without fear of compromise.

In this way, they can enter into a secure business transaction from anywhere, anytime.

David Norris, Managing Director, Arcot UK and Ireland, added: "The ArcotID(tm) offers the ease of use, scalability, security and affordability essential for an application like SafeMail. The combination of these attributes make it ideal for this and any postal or government application requiring a mass deployment over a wide range of users." -ENDS-

About Arcot

Arcot, Systems, Inc., is the leading provider of authentication solutions for securing e-business in Internet-scale, and mobile environments. Only Arcot can provide a software-based solution that is platform- independent, supports any end user device and can be easily and cost-effectively deployed in Internet-scale and mobile environments. The Arcot approach offers businesses the solution they have been looking for to meet both their transactional security and business needs while providing the customer the ultimate user-friendly experience with anytime, anywhere convenience.

Leaders in financial services, healthcare, and e-commerce are using Arcot solutions to protect their customer's privacy and reduce fraud. For more information, visit www.arcot.com/europe

About Post.Trust

An Post has been acting as a trusted third party in the Irish market for more than 100 years and is taking a leadership role in developing successful e-business infrastructures for Irish businesses. In 2000 An Post launched it's own national level Certification Authority – Post.Trust. Post.Trust is responsible for issuing, renewing, and managing digital certificates, providing large-scale PKI solutions and developing secure electronic payments platforms for businesses. Post.Trust is developing SafeMail as a secure communications solution for Irish businesses.

For more information, visit www.post.trust.ie

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