HID Global acquires IdenTrust to expand its secure identity solutions

HID Global announced on Wednesday that it has acquired IdenTrust Inc., a provider of solutions for globally interoperable digital identities. IdenTrust is the largest supplier of digital identities for the Department of Defense’s External Certification Authority (ECA) program and the General Services Administration’s Access Certificates for Electronic Services (ACES) program. The company also provides identity management solutions for some of the world’s largest financial institutions.  In the UK, IdenTrust digital certificates secure more than six billion payment transactions annually, with an aggregate value exceeding $7 trillion.

According to Jeremy Hyatt, director of global public relations for HID, the purchase of IdenTrust complements the company’s previous acquisitions of ActivIdentity and Codebench.    

“The IdenTrust acquisition complements our previous acquisition of both ActivIdentity (which strengthened our value proposition around secure authentication including PKI) and Codebench (which expanded our physical security identity management solution offering particularly for the government sector, and presented the opportunity to move PKI beyond the desktop to the door).  The IdenTrust acquisition brings us solutions for globally interoperable digital identities that can authenticate, encrypt and create electronic signatures for every type of transaction or activity where proof of identity is essential,” explained Hyatt.

In addition, Hyatt said that bringing IdenTrust into the HID fold “significantly enhances” their product roadmap moving forward.

“The addition of PKI technology for key management will enable us to host Trusted Service Manager (TSM) functions and services.  Additionally, the ability to deliver mobile keys for device management will enable us to implement certificate management on the phone,” Hyatt said.

Although IdenTrust has a strong presence in the government space, the acquisition will also expand HID’s footprint in other vertical markets, according to Hyatt.

“IdenTrust also provides identity management solutions for more than 20 of the world’s largest financial institutions, and gives HID Global enhanced access to the banking and corporate identity markets, as well as those in the government sector.  This will further strengthen our already solid traction in these segments,” said Hyatt.  

 “This acquisition, long in the making due to regulatory requirements, is very positive for IdenTrust, its customers, other shareholders and employees,” said Karen J. Wendel, president and CEO of IdenTrust.  “HID Global provides IdenTrust with a strong, financially-stable owner with a highly complementary product portfolio, while IdenTrust offers HID Global enhanced access to the banking, corporate, and government identity markets.  The combined solution offering is unmatched in the industry.”

Headquartered in San Francisco, IdenTrust has its operations center in Salt Lake City, Utah, as well as sales offices in Washington D.C. and London, England. Hyatt said that IdenTrust will remain an independent company within the HID Global family and that all of the company’s employees are expected to remain in place.