Smart Bits: GTE, Japanese Groups in Security Venture

GTE Corp. said it has reached an agreement to form Cybertrust Japan, a joint venture with several Japanese organizations to provide digital certification services for electronic commerce.

The original ownership group-GTE, Nomura Research Institute, NTT Mobile Communications Network, and an information security systems company named BUG Inc.-intends to invite banks, credit card issuers, and others to take equity interests.

Two major card organizations, Sumitomo Credit Service Co. and JCB Co., were the first to announce plans to use Cybertrust Japan for digital certificates in Internet credit card transactions.

Digital certificates are an important element in the international bank card associations' Secure Electronic Transactions protocol. Japan, which is expected to be a major electronic commerce market, also has seen the opening of an affiliate of GTE's principal digital identification competitor, Verisign Inc.

"GTE is making it possible for electronic commerce to achieve the same level of security in Japan as in the United States," said Hiroyuki Hattori, president of BUG, which was the first in Japan to import encryption technology from RSA Data Security Inc., a key supplier to both Cybertrust and Verisign.

"Through its established relationships with global financial leaders such as MasterCard, American Express, and JCB, and with over 15 years' experience developing and managing public key systems for the U.S. government, GTE is the most trusted provider of certificate-authority technology in the world," Mr. Hattori said.

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