Ubizen To Provide Security Certificates In Belgian Digital Tachograph Project
Ubizen, the principal provider of Managed Security Solutions, today announced it has been awarded a crucial part of a project to supply the Belgian Institute for Road Transport (IWT-ITR) all digital tachograph smart cards over the next ten years. The digital tachograph is a control device for recording professional drivers’ activities, such as driving and rest periods.
The European Commission decided to make the use of a digital tachograph mandatory for all its member states in order to enhance overall road safety and to create uniform competitive conditions in the European trucking and passenger transport industry. All member states must have a solution in place by May 5, 2005, which must be fully operational by August 5, 2005.
Successful implementation of the digital tachograph is subject to a few critical factors, of which the presence of tachograph-compliant technology, state-of-the-art security operations management and physical security qualify as the most essential. But with the short deadline to comply with EC regulations, the need for a complete, qualitative, smooth and quick implementation plan is equally high. To meet all those requirements, the Belgian Institute for Road Transport reverted to a consortium of companies consisting of Giesecke & Devrient, Unisys Belgium and Ubizen. All were chosen for their expert knowledge and proven expertise with respect to smart cards, integration and IT security.
“The digital tachograph, in using digital certificates, will reduce fraud possibilities and will make the enforcement of drivers’ activities more efficient and effective,” said Chief Executive Officer of Ubizen, Stijn Bijnens. “However, like in many projects, the introduction of certificates can be complex and exceeds technical issues; it needs clear procedures and policies, which must be enforced and audited. Furthermore, it requires highly specialised internal staff,” continued Bijnens. “Ubizen is delivering a cost-effective, Tachograph-compliant managed certificate service, allowing member states to fulfill their obligations within Europe’s time constraints.”
Digital certificates are widely recognised as the best way to fulfill the security requirements of electronic communication; needs such as authentication, integrity, confidentiality and non-repudiation. But in order to create digital certificates, one needs a Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). A PKI produces the means and the procedures to establish a link between certificates and identities, the management of the certificates themselves and validation of certificates.
Ubizen’s managed PKI solution, Ubizen OnlineGuardian Certificate Management, produces, validates and manages the lifecycle of certificates. It has also been implemented in the Belgian electronic identity cards project and with Academisch Medisch Centrum (a Dutch academic teaching hospital). This solution is part of Ubizen’s family of Managed Security Services, which provides proactive and remote management, monitoring and support of IT security technologies 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
About Ubizen
Ubizen is the principal provider of Managed Security Solutions for global businesses. Companies rely on Ubizen OnlineGuardian services to manage, monitor and support security devices 24x7x365. Ubizen’s Professional Services complement Ubizen OnlineGuardian managed services, by helping enterprises plan and implement security policies and infrastructures. Ubizen is also pioneering solutions for Application Security. Ubizen is part of the world’s largest privately held information security company, Cybertrust. For more information visit www.ubizen.com.