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Smartcard-based enterprise security to rise

Gemplus International SA recently reported the results of its US Corporate Security Systems Study. The study, performed by Frost & Sullivan, provides insight into the present security systems, needs, and prospective future trends of American Fortune 500 companies. According to the survey results, based on interviews with 69 Fortune 500 senior executives, there is a profound interest in using smartcards as part of their physical and/or logical security systems.

"More than 63% of the Fortune 500 executives interviewed either have investigated or are investigating smartcards for network security," says Deepak Chetty, senior industry analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "Furthermore there was a 100% awareness of smartcard technology among those interviewed. These are extraordinary figures considering the fact that most companies had not even heard of smartcards three years ago."

In 2002 it was reported by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Computer Security Institute (CSI) that 90% of large corporations and government agencies detected computer security breaches within the last year. The traditional employee badges used within most corporations today are unable to address all these electronic security issues.

Results from the US Corporate Security Systems Study indicate an increased interest in Fortune 500 companies to deploy a single token for both physical and logical security. Smartcards respond to this challenge by offering a versatile platform to combine building access and network security on one card, and as a result, have experienced an increased uptake by large corporations in the last few years.

"More than one-third of Fortune 500 companies surveyed, 39% to be precise, plan to use smartcards to enhance and strengthen their corporate security systems within the next three years," says Dave Ludin, Gemplus's Vice President of Financial and Security Solutions in North America.

"This research shows that already 30% of Fortune 500 companies are currently using or testing smartcards within their security systems."

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