Bundesdruckerei’s Expertise Leads Implementation of National PKD Solution in the UAE

Abu Dhabi–based Emirates German Security Printing LLC (EGSP) delivered the complete infrastructure for the establishment of a National Public Key Directory solution. The system is used at border control checkpoints in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to ensure tamper-proof and efficient verification of domestic and foreign electronic passports. EGSP was supported by its partners HJP Consulting GmbH, Bundesdruckerei GmbH, secunet Security Networks AG and Giesecke & Devrient GmbH.
 
Emirates German Security Printing, a joint venture in which Bundesdruckerei holds a 49% stake, is the prime contractor for the National Public Key Directory (NPKD) project initiated by the Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates.
 
HJP Consulting (HJP) worked closely with the relevant departments in the Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates and provided all services related to system integration, including planning, testing and project management. G&D Dubai, a subsidiary of the Munich-based technology group Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), provided the NPKD software, which is part of the secunet eID PKI Suite by the G&D subsidiary secunet Security Networks. Bundesdruckerei delivered the software for the expansion of existing border control systems.
 
Electronic passports are embedded with a chip that prevents the undetected manipulation of the personal data of the passport holder. Using the Public Key Directory of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), border control authorities can verify the authenticity of the passport data. They rely on having access to prequalified certificates, called Document Signer Certificates, and other public key infrastructure (PKI) data from active ICAO member states. The Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates has now introduced the National PKD system to examine the data obtained from the ICAO PKD and from other sources and to forward the appropriate certificates and certificate revocation lists (CRLs) to all document verification systems (so-called “Inspection Systems”) at border control posts in the U.A.E. In September 2011, the United Arab Emirates became the first country in the Middle East to join the ICAO PKD as an active member. Now it is the first country in the Middle East that implemented a National PKD solution.
 
Authentication of the sender is essential to prove that the issuer of a public key really is who it claims to be. This is where the public key infrastructure comes into play. The basic principle is that a trustworthy authority confirms the identity of the sender of a public key, thus assuring the participant that the data is tamper-proof and originated with the sender. Therefore, the trusted authorities establish public key directories (PKD), in which are recorded both the currently valid and the compromised public keys of its participants.