Improve technology to protect identities, secure transactions

Secure identities and trusted transactions have to be at the forefront for any country moving forward; this was the implication made by Mary Olson, Senior Marketing Manager of Government Solutions employed by Entrust Datacard.

She was speaking to the media at the PBS and Entrust Datacard Secure Identities and Trusted Transactions Seminar at the Radisson Hotel. Trusted identities and secure transactions are key to any business, government or individual.

Consumers, citizens and employees increasingly expect anywhere-anytime experiences – whether they are making purchases, crossing borders, accessing e-gov services or logging onto corporate networks.

They also expect the ecosystems that allow this freedom and flexibility to be entirely reliable and secure. Entrust Datacard offers the trusted identity and secure transaction technologies that make these ecosystems possible.

Olson indicated, “We have implemented secure identification programmes throughout the world. We are here in Barbados as a support mechanism with some subject matter experts in terms of digital and physical security. We are here to support our partner PBS, a strategic partner for us in Latin America, the Caribbean and Central America.

“This seminar’s objective is to share best practices about identity programmes and how technology is being utilised by Governments all over the world – some of the pros and cons of the technology – for example digital signatures…

“I am excited to be in Barbados because we have been doing these workshops across the world. We did a seminar in Jamaica a year ago and we have seen results coming from that seminar, where we met with the army to increase the security of their badges. We have done seminars throughout Latin America, trying to provide more information about trusted identity.

“We will be conducting the next seminar in St. Lucia. The Ambassador has promoted digital identity...”

Christopher Derrell, Manager of Sales for IT Products at Productive Business Solutions (PBS), identified that “Barbados’ passport is one of the most valuable in the world. We are also a trusted country. What an electronic document does, is once you implement standards that are compatible with other countries, it makes it easier to accept that document in other countries.

“The US Ambassador is here because one of the key incentives to countries that the US is offering is to have electronic Visa, which makes getting the Visa easier and allows you to access the US easily and other countries.” (NB)