NXP security technology at core of one of world’s biggest eID programs

SINGAPORE: NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced at Cards & Payments Singapore that it is near completion of its part of the 172m pieces supplied into the eKTP project.

Launched in 2011, the eKTP project is one of the largest national eID deployments across the globe. The eKTP cards for 172 million citizens are part of a nationwide, multi-application, complete eID-system that comprises data capturing solutions, servers, data storage, biometric matching and smart cards, plus various infrastructure and networking solutions.

Combining the strong drive of the local companies with the technical expertise of principal suppliers such as NXP, the local production companies in the State Printing Company Consortium (PNRI) were able to swiftly ramp-up  the smart card production and personalization of the eKTP cards and achieve near completion within just 18 months.

In addition, the strong technology efforts brought into the project by international market leaders such as NXP have resulted in strong growth within the local Indonesian smart card and biometrics industry. As such, the eKTP project has also proven to be a valuable investment of governmental funds into the local economy.

The eKTP project will enable the Indonesian political system to strengthen democracy across the country by de-duplicating the various existing population databases, resulting in a more thorough census and identification of all Indonesian citizens.

Once complete, the eKTP system can be the basis for many citizen-government services, proving a citizen’s identity “beyond any doubt”. It can then be used to open bank accounts, obtain governmental documents such as birth certificates, register ownership of vehicles or property and many similar transactions. In addition, the multi-application capability of NXP’s chip technology enables the eKTP smart cards to support a large number of voting applications which reduce the possibility of fraud during elections.
This will assist in the government’s aim of building stronger citizen trust in the country’s democracy. Fully compliant with the structure of ICAO LDS-9303, the eKTP smart card can also be used as an international travel document, should Indonesia reach agreements on this with neighboring countries.

“The Indonesian eKTP project is a very good example of how local and global partners can quickly scale up operations and effectively deploy large volumes of smart card credentials over a short period of time. With the help and support of a carefully selected consortium of industry experts, the PNRI is still on track for hitting its ambitious mid-year 2013 completion target,” said Phil Sealy, industry analyst, ABI Research.

“Utilizing a pure contactless IC, the government had multi-application functionality at the forefront of its strategy. Moving forward, ABI Research expects to see the Indonesian government further extend and enhance its citizen outreach with e-government services building upon its success to date”.

“Indonesia’s eKTP project not only confirms our capabilities as a world-class manufacturer of security microcontrollers, able to deliver high quality devices in high volume, but also consolidates our position as a resourceful trusted partner with a global presence, able and willing to support large-scale projects from early stage through to completion,” said Ulrich Huewels, VP and GM, business line secure card solutions with NXP Semiconductors.

“eID roll-outs of this nature have the potential to really change the society by providing citizens with convenient and secure access to public services – there is no better illustration of this than the eVoting capability that the Indonesian eKTP smartcards will enable.”

Based on its expertise in security and contactless technology, NXP is the leading provider of complete solutions to the global Identification market across banking, eGovernment, transport ticketing, infrastructure, RFID tagging, device authentication and NFC.

Providing the secure microcontrollers and additionally the embedded Secure Application Modules (SAM) as well as reader ICs for the eKTP reader infrastructure – thus ensuring optimum interoperability and security of the end-to-end system – the scope of the eKTP project has further strengthened NXP’s position as the clear global leader in Identification as well as in the eGovernment market. This is confirmed by the latest report from ABI Research, which says that NXP has a global market share of 53 per cent in eGovernment.