Six Swedish banks and IBM to set up a new ID service for secure identification and signing over the Internet

Six Swedish banks and IBM to set up a new ID service for secure identification and signing over the Internet The six banks that make up The Swedish Banks' ID Consortium (Bankernas ID-konsortium) have now signed contracts with IBM for the supply of the technical services needed to realize the Swedish Banks' ID Service. The Swedish Banks' ID Service (Bankernas ID-tjänst) is a collaborative project between Danske Bank (in Sweden), FöreningsSparbanken, Handelsbanken, IKANO Banken, SEB and SkandiaBanken. The banks will launch the service in 2002. Private individuals will then be able to obtain from their bank an electronic key known as a Certificate. This will allow them to identify themselves in a secure way to the websites using the service and thus gain access to personal information stored there. They can also place orders and sign agreements. Public bodies and companies will be able to purchase ID services from any of the banks in the consortium. This will give them the means of achieving secure electronic communication with all individuals who have obtained Certificates from any of the six banks. "We believe that our service will contribute to better Internet security and hence to increased use of the Net", says Håkan Nyberg, chairman of the Consortium. "This will be of great value to the public sector, to companies and to individuals. Our system has the potential to achieve a significant breakthrough since we are responding to market forces. There are obvious economic incentives to use the service and go on developing it." The collaborative project between the banks and IBM includes a 'Certificate Factory', which uses a common Certificate standard. The Certificate Factory, to be supplied by IBM, will produce Certificates for individuals, and is where public bodies and companies check Certificates. IBM will also supply the software that organizations, companies and individuals need to use the Certificates. For further information please contact: ·Sten Arvidson, FöreningsSparbanken, tel +46 8 585 915 03, e-mail sten.arvidson@foreningssparbanken.se. ·Sverker Arvidson, Handelsbanken, tel +46 8 701 28 53, e-mail svar01@handelsbanken.se. ·Håkan Lundgren, IBM Svenska AB, tel +46 8 793 18 60, e-mail hakan.lundgren@se.ibm.com. Enclosure: diagram illustrating the Swedish Banks' ID Service Diagram: [REMOVED GRAPHICS] ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/06/27/20010627BIT00040/bit0003.doc http://www.bit.se/bitonline/2001/06/27/20010627BIT00040/bit0003.pdf