Federal PKI Policy Authority Certifies Symantec as First PIV-Interoperable Smartcard Provider

Symantec Authorized to Issue PIV-I Smartcard Credentials For Organizations that Interoperate with the Federal Government

RSA CONFERENCE 2011 – SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – – The Federal PKI Policy Authority (FPKIPA) has certified Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) as the first vendor authorized to issue Personal Identity Verification-Interoperable (PIV-I) smartcards. By earning FPKIPA certification, Symantec can issue identity credentials on PIV-I smartcards to government contractors, state and local governments, first responders and health care providers – effectively any organization that interoperates or does business with the Federal government, including the Department of Defense (DOD).

Symantec officially earned its certification on December 12, 2010, when the FPKIPA voted to approve the VeriSign® Non-Federal SSP PKI for cross-certification with the Federal Bridge Certification Authority at the new PIV-I assurance level. The approval followed extensive policy compliance and interoperability testing, which included a certification of PIV-I smartcards from two Symantec PIV-I customer deployments: Booz Allen Hamilton, a top 10 Federal integrator; and ICF International, a global professional services firm.

“We are deploying PIV-I cards to replace our employee badges because they provide the PKI technology that not only secures our enterprise transactions but also enables strong access control at our physical facilities,” said Joe Mahaffee, executive vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton. “By choosing a PIV-I solution with a managed PKI service, we avoided the costly and time consuming effort of developing our own credentialing system. Our Booz Allen Hamilton identity credentials can now be trusted by our Federal government clients for online transactions and access to high security facilities.”

Approval as the first certified PIV-I issuer means organizations can now rely on Symantec’s VeriSign Non-Federal SSP PKI, along with the Intercede’s MyID® Card Management System, to issue and manage fraud-resistant and cost-effective PIV-I credentials. The Symantec PIV-I solution makes it easy for organizations to issue high assurance credentials for trusted and seamless interactions with Federal agencies such as the DOD.

“Our partnership with Symantec’s PKI team enables the delivery of a proven solution for the new and fast growing PIV-I market,” said Richard Parris, chief executive, Intercede Ltd.

“Deploying our own PIV-I solution positions us to provide private sector clients with the same identity, credentialing and access management services that we have been providing our Federal PIV clients,” said William Jacob, senior vice president, ICF International. “We believe that the implementation of Symantec’s PIV-I solution will be important to ICF International customers.”

PIV-I smartcards are expected to become a key part of the identity ecosystem envisioned in the Obama Administration’s National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. To issue these strong identification smartcards to first responders alone will require more than 25 million smartcards, according to an estimate by the Department of Homeland Security.1

“Symantec is proud to be the first vendor approved by the Federal PKI Policy Authority as a PIV-I smartcard provider,” said Nick Piazzola, senior director of Government Authentication Solutions at Symantec. “With the Federal government encouraging government contractors, state and local governments and first responders to adopt PIV-I, the availability of a proven, certified solution from Symantec means these organizations can roll out PIV-I credentialing programs quickly and efficiently.”

Identity Management Takes a Front Row Seat at RSA

At RSA Conference 2011, Symantec is participating in two track sessions. At 4:00 p.m., Thursday, February 17, 2011, Francis deSouza, senior vice president of Enterprise Security Group at Symantec, will moderate a panel titled: “Who Are You? When Security Hinges on Identity.” That panel includes Michael Waters, Manager Enterprise Security at Booz Allen Hamilton.

About Symantec

Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organizations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com.