HELSINKI - 5 June 2003: Baltimore Technologies (London: BLM), a global leader in e-security, today announced that the Finnish Population Register Centre (PRC) has chosen Baltimore UniCERT(tm) to issue and manage digital credentials for the newly released version of the electronic identification (eID) card launched in Finland. In one of Europe's major electronic ID projects, Baltimore, in partnership with Fujitsu Invia, enables the government of Finland to offer a range of secure online services to its citizens, allowing them to undertake legally binding transactions using digital signatures in compliance with the EU Electronic Signatures Directive, which came into force in Finland in February 2003.
For the citizens of Finland this means that it will be possible to securely transact with public authorities, businesses and service providers via the Internet whereby they can be assured of the source, accuracy and privacy of the information exchanged. For example the citizen certificate, a unique digital identity on the eID card, enables secure access to online banking and insurance services, educational services, as well as to services provided by regional and public administration offices. The card is also an official travel document for Finnish citizens in 19 European countries. Furthermore, the citizen certificate will be added, along with the EMV (Europay, MasterCard, Visa) application, to chip cards issued by banks.
"Baltimore Technologies, in association with Fujitsu Invia, is a key partner in fulfilling the Finnish e-government's strategy to offer on-line services to all citizens protected by the highest level of Internet security," said Tapio Aaltonen, Director of Certification Services of the Population Register Centre. "We chose Baltimore as it is one of the leading providers of high-end trust infrastructure to the e-government sector worldwide and it met the requirements we had set for the co-operation. We are looking forward to even more intensive collaboration in the area of research and product development."
"We are pleased to partner with Baltimore Technologies in a project that will benefit millions of Finnish citizens while establishing Finland as one of Europe's leading implementers of e-government services," said Björn-Eric Svensson, Business Manager of Fujitsu Invia. "Baltimore's products, experience and leadership in e-government projects globally made them the partner of choice for Fujitsu Invia in the Finnish Electronic Identification project. Fujitsu Invia has a key role in both delivering the solution as well as a wide range of on-going specialist and hosting services throughout a four-year contract period."
"With one of the world's highest rates of both Internet and mobile phone penetration, Finland represents a strategic market for Baltimore," commented Bijan Khezri, Chief Executive of Baltimore Technologies. "We are very pleased to add Finland to the increasing list of the world's leading e-Governments that have chosen Baltimore Technologies. I am confident that this project sets a benchmark for e-Government services in the Nordic region and beyond. We appreciate the strong working relationship with Fujitsu Invia."
About the Finnish Population Register Centre
The Finnish Population Register Centre (PRC) is responsible for developing and maintaining the population information system in Finland. It is also the leading certification authority and supplies the certificates that are used on the Finnish electronic identification (eID) card. The eID card is a secure network key for on-line services that require reliable identification of a person, e.g. most government as well as many private sector services on the Internet. The PRC is the first certification authority to issue qualified certificates (QC) in Finland and has been accredited by Ficora, the Finnish regulatory authority that supervises QC issuers in Finland. For more information, please visit www.fineid.fi or www.vaestorekisterikeskus.fi.
About Fujitsu Invia
Fujitsu Invia is a Nordic service provider and operator of advanced information systems, implementing and developing systems that bring business benefits for the needs of the networked economy. We assume responsibility for the customer's entire IT infrastructure from design to maintenance. Fujitsu Invia's net sales for financial year 2002/2003 were EUR 282 million. The company employs 2,200 people in Finland, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. For more information, please visit www.invia.fujitsu.com
About Baltimore Technologies
Baltimore Technologies' products, services and solutions address the fundamental security needs of e-business in distributed environments. Baltimore's e-security technology enables companies to verify the identity of electronic counterparties and securely manages which resources and information users can access through open networks. Many of the world's leading organizations in Finance and Government have deployed Baltimore's e-security technology to enable e-business over fixed and wireless networks. Baltimore also offers worldwide support for its authorization management and public key-based authentication products.
Baltimore's products, services and solutions are sold directly as well as through its worldwide partner network, Baltimore TrustedWorld(tm). Baltimore Technologies is a public company, listed on the London Stock Exchange (BLM). For more information on Baltimore Technologies, please visit http://www.baltimore.com
Media Contacts - Baltimore Technologies:
Irene Dehaene Dan Chappell
Baltimore Technologies Brands2Life
Tel: +353 1 881 6435 +44 20 7386 6200
Email: irene.dehaene@baltimore.com dan.chappell@brands2life.com
Media Contacts - Fujitsu Invia:
Satu Pelttari
Fujitsu Invia Oy
Tel: +358 9 567 5581
Email: satu.pelttari@invia.fujitsu.com
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