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charismathics has been awarded a 5-year supply contract for PKI middleware in the US defense sector. The Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) tendered for the ongoing supply of PKI software and hardware components in 2011, and has awarded charismathics to supply the next generation PKI clients for military personnel and contractors using smart card technology for user authentication and email security.
The US government is one of the largest issuers of smart cards around the world. Since more than a decade, almost 20 million smart cards have been issued not only in the defense sector, but meanwhile throughout the whole government department and associated agencies.
Within that Identity Management scheme, the military played a lead role, implementing the so-called “Common Access Cards” (CAC) more than 10 years ago. With evolving standards and demands, the scheme grew to a complex and worlwide IT infrastructure, that even created a new smart card standard within the United States, the “Peronal Information Verification” (PIV), implemented within the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 as FIPS 201 standard. charismathics complies with this standard since 2009, and is listed as approved supplier on the list of GSA approved vendors.
charismathics today announces that the company’s products were now chosen to supply the PIV version of the charismathics smart security interface (CSSI PIV) to the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC), serving the Secretary of Defense to collate personnel, manpower, training, financial, and other data for the Department of Defense. The contract has been granted until the end of 2016.
Sven Gossel, CEO of charismathics, stated, “We have been working to be selected for this project ever since. To finally be among the world´s leading vendors of PKI technology for the US government is an unbelievable honor to us, that we will fulfill with gratitude and dedication to help securing the nation.”
DMDC was established in 1974 as the Manpower Research and Data Analysis Center within the U.S. Navy. In 1976, it was made a Field Activity of the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manpower & Reserve Affairs and renamed the Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC). While the name and the supporting activity have varied, DMDC’s primary function has always been to support the DoD information management needs for Personnel & Readiness.