Wisekey’s secure digital identification solution prevents spies breaking into data systems to obtain critical race information; and its Smartcard kit is used by hospitality guests
Geneva, Switzerland, Monday 22nd October, 2007 – Wisekey today announced its work with Alinghi – twice winners of the prestigious Americas Cup – in delivering a high security digital identification solution to prevent confidential electronic information and data being leaked into the opposition’s camps helped them to gain a competitive advantage. Alinghi opted to protect the large volumes of electronic data and communications being transmitted between the race team, partners, and sponsors, throughout the duration of the build-up to the race, which included implementing Wisekey’s secure electronic identity solution, which incorporates a photograph, personal password and a computer chip to limit people’s access to sensitive areas of the Alinghi website and data bank; and to prevent the team’s camp and associates accessing specific data without proof of identity. Wisekey’s solution, which is part of its CertifyID suite enabled Alinghi to benefit from its data being protected in a limited access, highly-secure universal computing environment, which was low-cost to deploy and easy-to-use. In addition, Wisekey provided an Alinghi Smartcard kit to hospitality guests during the America’s cup, so a social network could be created around the Alinghi secured website, allowing them to preview special materials, plus more.
Alinghi wanted to ensure nothing would hinder their title defense, and with little difference in the basic design of the race boats since circa. 1992, additional elements such as sail designs, race strategy, and tactical information and communications were the only differentiators between winning and losing. To have this critical information leaked to competitors by insiders, or through spies breaking into and accessing systems that could be decrypted, could have cost Alinghi the race.
"The America's Cup is a design contest and a technology race. That's the way the Cup's always been and we're going to keep it that way," commented Brad Butterworth, Alinghi skipper.
Kevin Blackman, Chief Technology Officer, Wisekey also commented on the need to eliminate any risk of vital data ending up in the wrong hands, “Events such as the America's Cup involve enormous investment so there would be huge repercussions if sensitive information left a secure area, as we have seen in other sports."
Alinghi and Wisekey intend to continue their business partnership and the two organizations have already commenced work to heighten the camp’s security levels in the next race with the use of biometric data, which in effect uses the composition of finger prints and DNA to assure a person’s identity. However, Wisekey’s biggest hurdle in the coming years is to eliminate the general distrust people have in the use of biometric data as a result of fictional television programs misplacing and sensationalizing how the technology is used to convict criminals. Wisekey will be trailblazing an educational exercise to make it common knowledge that only partial print can be used for company identification, which can’t be used by the police to incriminate people.