Entrust said Tuesday it had created solutions that meet Homeland Security requirements on accessing federal information systems.

The solutions apply to the 2004 Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12), which standardizes employee and contractor access to government computer systems.

Last week was the deadline for implementation of the first phase of HSPD-12, which establishes methods of proving identity and issuing security credentials. Phase Two has a deadline of Oct. 27, 2006, and requires government agencies to issue smart cards to employees and contractors that include a public-key infrastructure (PKI) authentication certificate.

Dallas-based Entrust released few details of its solution; however, officials did say its PKI certification authority was cross-certified with the Federal Bridge Certification Authority so that certifications can be "used seamlessly for secure data exchange and authentication across multiple federal agencies."

Copyright 2005 by United Press International