Digital Certificate Created To Make European PKI Manageable And Affordable

Digital Signature Trust, an affiliate of Salt Lake City-based Zions First National Bank, and EuroSignCard, a Luxembourg-based data security firm, have introduced EuroSignID, a digital certificate initiative within the European Union that's designed to take the hassles out of public key infrastructure (PKI) and make it financially affordable.

The EuroSignID program is designed for organizations and professionals who want to benefit from the security PKI offers but don't want to buy and run such a complex system themselves.

The European Union (EU) issued a directive in 1999 mandating that legally binding electronic signatures be based on digital certificates--similar to the United States' E-SIGN legislation that took effect in October 2000. With the EuroSignID initiative, DST and ESC intend to build a digital certificate program within the 15 EU countries. In a second stage, the two companies plan to establish a Certification Authority in Luxembourg to service all sectors in Luxembourg and the EU with "qualified certificates" as defined in the EU's 1999 directive.

EuroSignID digital certificates are available immediately to the European Community through ESC's Web site at www.eurosigncard.lu. The digital certificates can be used with any number of applications, including secure network access, secure e-mail, digital signing and secure digital document transport.

Digital signatures are mathematical transformations of electronic messages that identify, in a non-forgeable manner, the identity of the originator of a message. Digital signatures are based on PKI, which is designed to provide confidentiality, user authentication, message integrity, and non-repudiation over the Internet. Digital certificates simplify and streamline e-business processes and transactions, making them trusted and secure.

Acting as the trusted third-party, DST provides outsourced digital certificate services so businesses can integrate digital signatures into their e-business applications quickly and cost effectively, virtually eliminating the risk of identity fraud.