Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, will supply the Government Printing Works (GPW) of South Africa with Sealys eID cards for their national identity program.
Professor Anthony Mbewu, CEO of GPW said, “Gemalto demonstrated their proven ability to deliver high-end eID secure documents within an ambitious schedule.”
“Plans are already in place for the next phases of the modernization program, and we are very confident in Gemalto’s deep expertise and state-of-the-art technology in supporting our future aspirations,” Mbewu added.
According to Gemalto, “This new project marks another significant acceleration in the momentum behind eGovernment initiatives on the continent, where Gemalto has already deployed a number of major programs.”
“Our local presence in Johannesburg provides a key benefit in ensuring a strategic partnership with the GPW,” said Ari Bouzbib, Senior Vice President of Government Programs at Gemalto.
GPW will harness Gemalto’s secure embedded software to protect the holder’s image and biometric data within the secure identity e-document, delivering outstanding levels of integrity and privacy. Moreover, GPW selected the high-end Sealys document fitted with the contactless feature, ensuring added levels of convenience with unrivaled security for citizens.
Designed to modernize and replace South Africa’s traditional, paper-based ‘green book’ identity documentation, the new Sealys eID card will be offered by the Department for Home Affairs (DHA) to citizens aged 16 and over. The South African government embarked on this service program to improve confidence in official identity credentials and to prepare for the deployment of a comprehensive suite of efficient and convenient eGovernment services.
Leveraging experience that already includes participation to over 80 national programs worldwide, Gemalto is providing GPW with an advanced and highly durable polycarbonate eID card specifically designed to counter forgery. Furthermore, the Sealy eID supports public key infrastructure (PKI) and match-on-card authentication techniques to enable easy verification of authenticity and a future-proof platform capable of providing a broad range of secure online services such as online and in-person authentication as well as legally binding digital signatures.
