DST Selected by the National Institutes of Health to Develop
Conceptual System Design for Online Digitally Signed Grant Applications
SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- Digital Signature Trust Co.
(DST), an affiliate of Zions Bancorporation (Nasdaq: ZION) and the first
licensed certification authority (CA) in the United States, announced today
that it has been selected to provide services to the Office of Extramural
Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH) to develop a conceptual system
design for the NIH to accept digitally signed grant applications. The NIH is
the first governmental organization to use the General Services
Administration's Access Certificates for Electronic Services (ACES) contract
vehicle to complete a task order. In September last year, the DST Team became
the first certification authority to receive the ACES CA designation.
DST and one of its ACES sub-contractors, Computer Sciences Corporation
(CSC), will work together to develop the system design, which will address:
online registration; identity proofing; digital certificate issuance; digital
signing; and certificate validation, renewal and revocation requirements. The
design will also address roles and responsibilities of key participants,
policy constraints and influences of the financial community. Based on the
conceptual design, the DST Team will develop an implementation strategy for a
production level online grant application system.
The NIH's move toward a paperless environment is part of its ongoing
Electronic Research Administration initiative. Implementing digital
certificate technology as part of its online grants receipt and reporting
processes was inspired by the Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA),
which mandates that agencies shift paper processes to the Internet by 2003,
and the Access America initiative championed by the National Performance
Review. The primary goal of Access America is to leverage information
technology to deliver comprehensive government services to Americans and to
dramatically increase government productivity.
"We are pleased to have the opportunity to work with a governmental
organization so soon after winning the ACES CA designation," said
Keren Cummins, DST's vice president of government services. "We originally
got involved with the ACES program because we believe in what it's designed to
accomplish, and the NIH's task order award is evidence that they also see the
enormous value in using digital signature technology to make government
services more accessible to the American public."
"Along with evaluating the potential for using ACES certificates to ensure
the security of online grant application submission, we are embarking on this
project to explore synergies with the FedCommons program and Access America
for Students, which is spearheaded by the Department of Education," said
Dr. Peter Alterman, Director of Operations, Office of Extramural Research,
NIH. "The DST Team was a natural choice for this important project because of
their clear understanding of our requirements and operating environment and of
our desire to coordinate with the Access America for Students implementation
of digital certificate technology in the academic world."
In addition to being the first selected ACES CA, DST is an approved CA for
the U.S. Department of Defense Interim External Certificate Authority (IECA)
PKI. DST also provides CA services to the financial services industry through
ABAecom, a subsidiary of the American Bankers Association; to Entrust
Worldwide(TM), an international, multi-industry secure network community; and
to the electric utility industry's largest online trading community, OASIS.
As a national bank subsidiary and the first licensed CA in the United
States, DST is also subject to regulatory oversight and other stringent
internal and external auditing requirements that offer an unparalleled level
of assurance that its operations meet or exceed all industry security and
privacy standards.
About Digital Signature Trust
Digital Signature Trust Co. is a subsidiary of Zions First National Bank
and is the first licensed Certification Authority in the U.S. DST helps
government and industry clients benefit from savings and service opportunities
offered by the Internet through providing trusted, PKI-based digital
certificate services and secure electronic commerce solutions. DST also
offers certification authority and repository services, business process
re-engineering, and PKI consulting. With a focus on implementing PKIs that
meet individual client needs, DST offers a variety of PKI solutions backed by
leading technology providers. DST creates the trust that allows organizations
to fully benefit from electronic commerce. For more information, call DST at
1-888-294-7831 or visit http://www.digsigtrust.com . Zions First National
Bank is the largest subsidiary of Zions Bancorporation.
SOURCE Digital Signature Trust Co.
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http://www.digsigtrust.com
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CONTACT:
Wendy Steinle of Digital Signature Trust,
801-594-8027, or wendy.steinle@digsigtrust.com
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