Public Key Infrastructures

The key to success

With the introduction of the new electronic passports, security for travel documents has been raised to a new level. However, to be able to make full use of the benefits of an electronic machine-readable travel document (eMRTD), the authorities responsible must implement an easy-to-use public key infrastructure (PKI).

Over 90 countries have introduced electronic passports in the last five years. Biometric data, such as a facial image or fingerprints, is saved on an RFID chip in second-generation electronic passports. Despite the high level of technology, data security must be guaranteed just as for the old travel documents.

Is the chip genuine, i.e. was it issued by an authorized authority and has the data on the chip remained unmodified? Is sensitive data protected against unauthorized access and is communication between the chip and reader protected against interception? Has the chip been replaced by a copy? Authenticity, integrity, security, and originality are the key factors for the success of an electronic travel document.

To this end, special security protocols have been specified by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) that describe these PKIs.

G&D PKI installations are not restricted to the ID document segment, however. G&D PKI systems can also be found in healthcare cards and tachograph systems. In G&D, customers have an experienced and expert partner who can design secure PKI systems around the world.