SMARTRAC Obtains EAL5+ Security Certification
- Expansion of the existing security level
- Self-contained certificate for eID products with optional chip initialisation
SMARTRAC N.V., a leading manufacturer and supplier of RFID transponders, today announced that it has obtained a site certificate for its ePassport production facility in Thailand from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) which supports product certifications conformant to Part 3 up to the assurance level EAL5+.
The site certificate covers the production environment and processes for personal electronic identification (eID) products, especially RFID inlays for ePassports and contactless National ID Cards. It also includes the initialization environment for eID with SMARTRAC being the first inlay manufacturer obtaining security certification for both capabilities.
Customers throughout the value chain benefit from increased flexibility and cost savings as they are now enabled to include the SMARTRAC certificate in their own product certificates at little to no additional cost and effort. In addition, making use of the SMARTRAC certificate results in reduced complexity and time savings and thereby much quicker time to market, as already proven by various de-facto standard ePassport operating systems from different vendors.
"The Common Criteria certification is another proof of our security leadership", says Manfred Rietzler, Chief Technology Officer of SMARTRAC. "As supplier to more than 25 e-Passport projects worldwide we have not only set standards in terms of technology but are also committed to highest standards in terms of security and reliability."
Product certificates from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) are accepted in all countries following the Common Criteria specifications. As SMARTRAC will continue maintenance of the certificate, customers benefit from a future-proof and flexible security commitment that also covers upcoming products and product changes.
SMARTRAC already runs a network of high security production facilities in Asia, Europe and the U.S. which comply with different security standards. The company is also planning to equip further production facilities with site certificates and increase the certification grade of existing ones. ePassport and card manufacturers not only benefit from the high security standards but also from the company's production capacity of up to 30 million pieces per month that is suited to cushioning peak demand in their own manufacturing process. In addition, the global production network and capacity can help reduce export costs as the demand can now alternatively be satisfied on a certified SMARTRAC location nearby.
The official certificate and security target documents (BSI-DSZ-CC-S-0002-2009) will be available for download from the BSI web site within the next days.
About SMARTRAC N.V.
SMARTRAC is a leading manufacturer and supplier of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) components for a broad bandwidth of applications in all current frequency standards. The company produces ready-made as well as customized transponders for public transport, access control, animal identification, industry and logistics.
SMARTRAC is the global leader in high-quality RFID inlays for passports with integrated, contactless chips (ePassports), contactless credit cards (ePayment) as well as for RFID transponders for public transportation applications and car immobilizers. SMARTRAC was founded in 2000 and since going public in July 2006 has been trading as a stock corporation under Dutch law with its registered headquarters in Amsterdam. The company currently employs some 2,600 employees and maintains a global research and development, production and sales network.
SOURCE: SMARTRAC N.V.