Hong Kong Post has contracted with Baltimore Technologies, through HP, to use the firm's UniCERT technology as the certificate authority (CA) for its Smart ID service in the former crown colony.
The smart card-based digital ID service, which Hong Kong Post will administer, plans on issuing four million cards to all of Hong Kong's citizens over the next four years.
Smart ID is a strategic Hong Kong e-government initiative designed to enable all citizens engage and exchange information electronically with the government in an easy and efficient manner.
Baltimore's technology will be used to administer the e-Cert side of smart card, the digital certificate used to authenticate online transactions.
The e-Cert will also allow users to generate digital signatures, which Baltimore says will enjoy the same legal status in Hong Kong as handwritten signatures under the electronic transactions legislation.
Hong Kong Post also plans to launch a number of PKI-based e-government services, including e-payments, later this year.
