Nuremberg based mobile and communication security specialist Certgate in cooperation with the informatics centre of the (mutual) savings bank organization SIZ now extends secure mobile business transactions to Blackberry devices. The Certgate Smartcard Micro SD with its built-in cryptographic chip enables Distributed Electronic Signature (DES) with EBICS through a secure SSL connection. The technology had been introduced for Windows Mobile based devices earlier in 2008.
Certgate Smartcard Micro SD allows EBICS transactions with electronic signature over secure SSL connection ‘on the road’. More decision makers frequently traveling for business can now authorize urgent financial transactions in a secure fashion away from their desks. According to Certgate the Smartcard Micro SD is compatible with most devices with a Micro SD, Mini SD and SD slot.
“Due to the high security requirements, debiting, transactions, and bond and share orders often needed to wait while executives were traveling”, Dr. Paschalis Papagrigoriou, CEO of Certgate, explains. “The capability of authorizing these transactions in a secure way will accelerate business processes and make them more efficient.”
The personal key needed for a secure electronic signature is stored on the Certgate Smartcard Micro SD. The EBICS remote server connection is SSL-encrypted. Users download all orders ready for signing through a secure connection with their mobile devices. They then select a transaction to be signed, create a valid electronic signature and return the encrypted document. The bank’s EBICS server indicates to the authorized user the number of required signatures and how many have been given.
EBICS is a standard in German banking business supporting internet-based communication for electronic banking. EBICS transactions provide the basis for transfer of encrypted orders to the bank-specific target system. Transferred data must be signed by one or more authorized individuals according to a pre-defined signature category. Certgate Smartcard Micro SD PKI ought to be perfectly suited for use as a signature card with EBICS and meets the high standards of the German Signature Law (SigG). (Source: Certgate GmbH/GST)