Utimaco partners with Oberthur Card Systems

Oberursel, January 31, 2002 – Utimaco Safeware and Oberthur Card Systems have signed a Technology Partnership agreement to enable close integration of Oberthur’s smartcards into Utimaco’s PKI enabled applications.

Utimaco views this partnership as an important step forward in its strategy to combine its digital signature applications with first rate security devices and professional services for card production and personalization. Utimaco has been a pioneer of the use of smartcard technology in security applications, since the late eighties.

As Ronny Depoortere, Vice President for Utimaco Safeware´s Digital Transaction Security (DTS), states: “A crucial element for a successful project is to select the right supplier for the cards. Rolling out a smartcard project is a very complex matter. All stages of the card’s life cycle need to be dealt with in a professional manner, from the card’s initial personalization right through to the card is taken out of service and replaced.”

The combination of Utimaco’s PKI and security applications with Oberthur’s outstanding expertise in the smartcard business should prove to be a winning combination for both new (e-government) and established (banking and e-business) industry sectors.

The partnership demonstrates both companies’ commitment to offer practical solutions and demonstrates Utimaco Safeware’s dedication to develop products to support the World’s premier smartcard technology.

Didier Sérodon, Director of the Finance ID Division for Oberthur Card Systems said, “Working with a diverse portfolio of partners across the globe Oberthur is delighted to announce this close co-operation with Utimaco. This partnership allows us to bring strong secure solutions to a wide range of customers, as a complement of Oberthur Card Systems CS financial offer it provides a great opportunity to bring together our individual expertise on the fields of smart card and e-security technology, to offer secure and integrated transaction solutions to our clients”

About Utimaco Safeware AG

Utimaco Safeware AG is one of the major European technological manufacturers of professional IT security solutions. The security technology and solutions developed by Utimaco Safeware protect the electronic data of companies and government bodies against unauthorised access and guarantees that business processes and administrative procedures in the electronic world are binding and confidential.

Utimaco Safeware´s PKI technology is used by CSSF (Luxembourg), the F?¶reningsSparbanken AB (Sweden), CertEurope (France), the Ministry of Justice of the state of Baden-W??rttemberg (Germany), DBV-Winterthur and others. Recent successes include the Bulgarian national public key infrastructure for e-government and the Dutch Rechterlijke Organisatie of the Ministry of Justice where the PKI is combined with state of the art biometric smartcards.

About Oberthur Card Systems SA

Oberthur Card Systems (Paris Stock Exchange – Code Euroclear 12413), a global leader and the innovator in the smart card industry, is shaping the future by offering the ultimate in SIM, WAP, 3G (IMT-2000/UMTS), e-wallet technologies & Internet-based card management services coupled with a firm commitment to open standards. Championing EMV migration, Oberthur is the World’s number one supplier of MasterCard and Visa cards, a leader in the banking, e-commerce, m-commerce and pay-TV sectors, and in JavaTM and GSM technologies. Oberthur Card Systems has an international reach with an industrial and commercial presence in 21 countries across the five continents. Oberthur Card Systems had sales of 451.1 million Euros in 2000.

INTERNET SITE: http://www.oberthurcs.com”

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