Entrust, a leading provider of trusted identities, payments and data protection, has announced it will facilitate the roll-out of Viet Nam’s citizen identity (ID) card project through a strategic partnership with MK Group Joint Stock Company (MK Group).
Accordingly, they will deliver advanced technology solutions and on-the-ground support together for Viet Nam to be able to issue 50 million chip-based ID cards to eligible citizens starting in February 2022.
Entrust issuance systems and software solutions, along with Viet Nam-based MK Group – who will manage on-the-ground operations and overseeing the local card issuance, will enable the high-speed, high-volume personalisation of the first 50-million national ID cards. The new chip-embedded National ID cards will replace and consolidate the three most recent versions of National ID cards – 9-digit, 12-digit, and barcode-based, introduced in 1999, 2012, and 2016 respectively – with new chip-based cards..
“We are pleased to be selected as the technology partner for this nationwide project to transform Viet Nam’s citizen ID system into one that is more standardised, secure, and digitally advanced,” said Angus McDougall, Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan, Entrust.
“MK Group is proud to introduce and implement leading technology for multi-application smart cards, with ID and biometric authentication application. The partnership with Entrust signifies our shared vision of accelerating the rise of secure data protection and advanced identity authentication in Viet Nam, where our offerings continue to play an instrumental role in the nation’s digitalisation programme,” said Nguyen Trong Khang, Chairman of MK Group. “MK Group is well placed to respond to the growing focus on government-grade security and assurance demonstrated in this card issuance project, through the delivery of robust and scalable solutions.”
MK Smart, a subsidiary of MK Group, developed the operating system of the chip on smartcards and its applications, in compliance with ICAO standards and local security requirements. The chip-based ID Card, which is bundled with ICAO-compliance e-ID data, biometric and digital signing capabilities, will be used to log into many different government and private portals, where thousands of services are provided to citizens. Citizens can also use the card for authentication with government bodies and banks.
Entrust has been delivering high-volume issuance systems and high-quality consumable supplies and professional services to fulfill the first batch of 50 million smart cards. — VNS