|
Gemplus joins industry leaders to develop White Paper addressing advantages
of Smart Card technology in personal ID systems.
Smart Card Alliance Task Force aims to outline Policy,
Process and Technology Issues in the Design of a Privacy-Sensitive Personal
ID System
Redwood Shores, CA -- January 29, 2002 - Gemplus, (Euronext: Sicovam
5768 & Nasdaq: GEMP), the world's number one provider of solutions
empowered by smart cards, announces its collaboration with the Smart Card
Alliance and other industry leaders to develop "Secure Personal Identification
Systems: Policy, Process and Technology Choices for a Privacy-Sensitive
Solution," a white paper that examines the key elements needed for
secure personal identification systems while speaking directly to the
protection of individual privacy rights. The Smart Card Alliance's Secure
Personal ID Task Force, which developed the paper, was formed to discuss
the implementation of privacy-sensitive identification systems and to
respond to demands for improving confidence in the verification of the
identity of individuals seeking access to physical or virtual locations.
"Recent events have once more highlighted the crucial importance
of secured identification credentials. Smart cards provide the best technology
to allow issuance of secured IDs, while at the same time preserving citizens'
privacy and convenience," said Gilles Lisimaque, Gemplus co-founder
and senior vice president, executive board member for the Smart Card Alliance
and board member of the International Security, Trust and Privacy Alliance.
"In addition, by uniting the physical and the new electronic world,
smart card solutions allow governments and private companies to open new
secured e-services to better serve citizens."
As the global leader of the smart card industry, Gemplus has acquired
a unique knowledge in the area of secure identity programs and e-Government
transactions, with successful deployments all over the globe in countries
such as Mexico, San Salvador, Singapore, Peru, Slovenia, Belgium and South
Africa.
"The technologies and expertise represented collectively in the
Smart Card Alliance allows us to create a white paper on the value of
smart cards as trusted personal credentials," said Donna Farmer,
chief executive officer and president of the Smart Card Alliance. "Through
the work of Alliance members such as Gemplus, the general public can gain
a greater understanding of smart card technology advantages."
The white paper concludes that smart card identification solutions meet
the requirements of a wide range of policy and legal mandates and offer
unmatched flexibility for storing, protecting and modifying personal information.
A smart card-based identification system provides the unique ability to
incorporate privacy-sensitive features, offers tamper-resistant security
features, and supports the highest degree of system security when combined
with other technologies such as biometrics, passwords and PKI (public
key infrastructure) encryption.
More than 20 organizations, both public and private, participated in
the Smart Card Alliance task force to develop this white paper. A copy
of the white paper can be obtained at www.smartcardalliance.org.
About Gemplus
Gemplus is the world's number one provider of solutions empowered by smart
cards. Gemplus helps its clients offer an exceptional range of portable,
personalized solutions that bring security and convenience to people's lives.
These include mobile Internet access, interoperable banking facilities,
e-commerce, and a wealth of other applications. Gemplus is the only completely
dedicated, truly global player in the smart card industry, with the largest
R&D team, unrivalled experience, and an outstanding track record of
technological innovation. Gemplus trades its shares on Euronext Paris S.A.
First Market and on the Nasdaq Stock Market as GEMP in the form of ADSs.
Its revenue in 2000 was 1.205 Billion Euros. It employs 6721 people in 37
countries throughout the world.
Gemplus: Beyond smart
Contacts
Press
Alicia Jones
Edelman Public Relations Worldwide
Tel: +1 323 202 1047
alicia.jones@edelman.com
It should be noted that certain of the statements
contained in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within
the meaning of section 27a of the securities act of 1933 and section 21e
of the securities exchange act of 1934. These statements relate to future
events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown
risks, uncertainties and other factors including without limitation customer
demand for our products, supply of key components, developments in the market
and advances in technology that may cause our or our industry's actual results,
levels of activity, or performance to materially differ from those expressed
or implied by such forward-looking statements. For a more detailed description
of these factors, please see Gemplus' most recent filings with the securities
and exchange commission. These statements reflect management's current expectations
regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the
date of this release. We are under no duty to update or revise any of the
forward-looking statements after this date or to confirm such statements
to actual results or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated results.
|
