Entrust has provided an update on the evolution of its ePassport technology and growing international interest in Cloud for PKI services and mobile-based border security solutions to the attendees and participants of the International Civil Aviation (ICAO) Seventh Symposium in Montreal this week.

In his presentation, ‘Trends in ePassport Trust,’ David Mahdi, product marketing manager, Entrust, noted that while ePassport technology has been adopted by several nations around the world, many that have executed on ePassport programmes still only rely on paper- based security features due to a lack of resources. "Without appropriately implemented interoperable PKI-based trust infrastructure and ICAO-compliant document verification, the investment in an ePassport solution is for naught," he said. A potential solution, Mahdi said, may come from cloud-based trusted PKI solutions that enable countries to better manage costs and system, while still providing the confidence in the country’s ability to meet global border security standards.

Craig Delmage, director, Government Affairs, Entrust, also highlighted the trend toward mobile devices when he delivered his presentation entitled, "Global Travel Identity PKI: 2011 Update." Delmage highlighted that in 2012 we will continue to see rapidly increasing deployment of mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets integrated with PKI. "The tremendous explosion of commercial off the shelf mobile devices moving into the border security arena will ultimately result in better security, speedier border control services, and improved economies of scale," he said.

Entrust technology is currently in use in a number of countries issuing a high volume of ePassports, including the US, UK,, Taiwan, Singapore, Ireland, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, New Zealand, Canada and Finland.