Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.
April 24, 2012
Federated identity management from the BT Radianz Cloud, coupled with Hitachi's Finger Vein Authentication Engine will offer enhanced security between firms and service providers
BT and Hitachi Europe Ltd. today announced that they are joining forces to design a compelling identity management solution to the financial services market. In this move, BT is introducing BT Unified Trading federation, a cloud based trust utility for secure identity exchange. This will incorporate Hitachi's Finger Vein Authentication Engine and technology to offer biometric security capabilities.
The combined strengths of both products will offer the market a trusted solution for the secure interchange of identities between financial firms, identity providers and service providers, at the heart of financial services industry.
BT Unified Trading federation will be easily accessible by the 15,000+ member sites in the BT Radianz Cloud, the world's largest secure networked financial services community. A key strength to the federation solution is that firms retain responsibility for their own directories, authentication and the attributes they allow third-parties to see. BT Unified Trading federation facilitates the secure exchange of that information.
The solution will use Hitachi's Finger Vein Authentication Engine and technology, which provide the key elements of the Identity Assurance process, through a fast and accurate biometric test of identity. This provides financial institutions with tangible user convenience, cost savings and productivity benefits, as well as improved security, an automatic audit trail, and improved compliance.
Tom Regent, president global banking & financial markets and sales & marketing, BT Global Services, said: "Greater security for storing and accessing customer information and transacting with business partners is becoming an increasingly prevalent regulatory requirement for the financial industry. And so, it was clear that a new approach was needed for identity management, one that employed new methods and new technology. That is why we have been working closely with the financial services community to extend our award-winning BT Unified Trading solution, by adding federated identity management to the rich collaboration and compliance capabilities.
"This development has gone extremely well and we are now at the point where we are looking to engage with financial institutions to develop bespoke customer solutions."
Akira Shimizu, managing director, Hitachi Europe Ltd. said: "We are extremely pleased that BT has chosen to collaborate with Hitachi for this exciting project. Our Finger Vein Authentication Engine and technology adds a new dimension to the BT Unified Trading federation offer. It provides assurance over the identity of those accessing privileged information and makes the connection between the individual and the credentials they hold. For any enterprise, this means a real time solution, which is highly flexible, easy to use and practical for the end-user."
BT Unified Trading federation will deliver many potential benefits to financial institutions:
Demonstrations will be available at the BT Connectivity Lounge, TradeTech Europe 2012 (April 25-26).
Hitachi's Finger Vein System provides financial institutions with a highly secure anti-fraud technology. The system uses infrared light to capture the unique pattern of veins in a person's finger. This pattern is stored as a template and used to verify the person's identity on the next occasion they use the device. Impossible to counterfeit, contactless, discreet and non-invasive it combines the convenience of fingerprint with the accuracy of iris scanning.
For more information about the technology, please visit
www.hitachi-eu.com/veinid
BT is one of the world's leading providers of communications services and solutions, serving customers in more than 170 countries. Its principal activities include the provision of networked IT services globally; local, national and international telecommunications services to its customers for use at home, at work and on the move; broadband and internet products and services and converged fixed/mobile products and services. BT consists principally of four lines of business: BT Global Services, BT Retail, BT Wholesale and Openreach.
In the year ended 31 March 2011, BT Group's revenue was £ 20,076m with profit before taxation of £ 1,717m.
British Telecommunications plc (BT) is a wholly-owned subsidiary of BT Group plc and encompasses virtually all businesses and assets of the BT Group. BT Group plc is listed on stock exchanges in London and New York.
For more information, visit
www.btplc.com
Hitachi, Ltd., (NYSE: HIT / TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with approximately 360,000 employees worldwide. Fiscal 2010 (ended March 31, 2011) consolidated revenues totaled 9,315 billion yen ($112.2 billion). Hitachi will focus more than ever on the Social Innovation Business, which includes information and telecommunication systems, power systems, environmental, industrial and transportation systems, and social and urban systems, as well as the sophisticated materials and key devices that support them. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.
Hitachi Europe Ltd., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd., Japan. Headquartered in Maidenhead, UK, it has operations in 12 countries across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and employs approximately 625 people.
Hitachi Europe comprises of eight business areas: rail systems; power and industrial systems; information systems; digital media and consumer products; industrial components and equipment; air conditioning and refrigeration systems; manufacturing systems; and procurement and sourcing. Hitachi Europe also has three Research and Development laboratories and a design centre. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.hitachi.eu.
