WASHINGTON, DC - The Department of Energy (DOE) today announced the deployment of a government-wide license of a new digital signature solution developed by Entrust (Nasdaq: ENTU), a leading global provider of Internet Security solutions and services. In a public ceremony, DOE Secretary Spencer Abraham validated a digitally signed copy of the Department of Energy's (DOE's) e-Government Strategic Action Plan: A Road Map for Delivering Services utilizing new Entrust public key infrastructure (PKI) digital signature technology.
The event marks the first digitally signed public e-document issued by a federal agency with such a high level of built-in security technology, including industry-leading identification and new universal verification capabilities. This solution will allow DOE and other government departments and agencies the ability to timestamp and place secured documents on Web servers while also protecting these documents from being altered after they have been digitally signed. Importantly, this process also allows recipients of e-documents to transparently validate the signature.
White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mitch Daniels joined Secretary Abraham at the event.
DOE defined the requirements for this digital signature technology and purchased a government-wide license to implement the Entrust solution at multiple federal agencies.
The Entrust solution meets a vital tenet of the OMB's E-Government strategy of "build it once, use it multiple times." The technology serves as a potential security standard for U.S. agencies and large enterprises seeking to benefit from the enormous cost efficiencies, productivity gains and paper reduction that may be realized through the use of secure e-documents with digital signatures.
"This important development serves as a key milestone in meeting the security and productivity objectives of DOE's E-Government Strategy," said Secretary Abraham. "We are pleased to share this new technology with other agencies in the Federal Government."
"The DOE is utilizing enhanced Internet security software to help enable secure authentication, identification and verification of signatures on official e-documents," said Karen Evans, CIO of the DOE. "This furthers our goal of establishing a platform of cost-efficient, highly secured e-services. Our goal is swiftly becoming a reality."
Government agencies and private enterprises have an increasing need to publish signed documents for public access, which requires that the public have the ability to verify the signatures on a document to ensure its authenticity and integrity.
"The DOE has again positioned itself as a leader among federal agencies in establishing sophisticated, efficient, yet user friendly, e-government programs and services with high levels of Internet security," said Bill Conner, chairman, president and CEO of Entrust. "Digital signatures that can be seamlessly verified and trusted are integral to enabling widespread security, storage and distribution of government documents and services for public access. The DOE should be commended for its vision and dedication in working with industry partners to deploy these and other advanced E-Government programs."
The Entrust solution, developed by CygnaCom Solutions for the DOE, provides verification, timestamping and security for Adobe Acrobat® applications. It has two components: a fully functional plug-in that can generate and verify signatures on Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) documents posted to a Web server, and a verification-only plug-in for signature verification.
The integration of the Entrust solution and Adobe Acrobat® combines the expertise of market leaders, Entrust and Adobe, to provide government agencies with fully integrated, secure e-document solutions that enable them to improve efficiencies, reduce costs and increase service levels to their constituents and customers using Entrust Ready Adobe PDF files.
About CygnaCom Solutions
CygnaCom Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of Entrust®, Inc. and has been providing professional computer security services and cryptographic solutions to government and business since 1994. With a staff of highly qualified engineers, CygnaCom Solutions offers clients a complete package of customized solutions to support information security strategy and secure transactions. We have performed professional services for a wide range of clients, including the U.S. government, healthcare, and banking industries. CygnaCom Solutions's team of security experts is skilled in helping clients meet their requirements for continuous IT innovation and development.
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