Gemalto receives SAS re-certification

Feb. 13, 2009
Company remains only US smart card manufacturer with this distinction

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--February 12, 2009--Gemalto, the world leader in digital security, today announced its advanced card center in Montgomeryville, Penn. has received Security Accreditation Scheme (SAS) re-certification from the GSM Association. Gemalto remains the only company to have a North American facility with the demanding and state-of-the art SAS security certification. This certification validates that Gemalto's Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card production and personalization processes, as well as its entire site operations meet the GSM Association's stringent standards for security and data protection.

"Security is critical for all mobile network operators and for their subscribers as well, so they feel free to use their phones in their day-to-day digital lifestyle," said Sebastien Cano, senior vice president Telecommunications for Gemalto North America. "Gemalto views this certification renewal as an essential way to give operators and consumers complete confidence that our facilities comply with the most rigorous security procedures in place to protect all of the components, cards and information, including subscriber data for personalization."

Gemalto is a member of the World Class Manufacturing Consortium. In addition to the SAS certification, it has received ISO 9001/2000 certification for its state-of-the-art quality management, ISO 14001/2004 certification for its superior environmental management and certification for secure production of banking cards from American Express, Discover, MasterCard and Visa.

Certification under the SAS demonstrates Gemalto's commitment to its customers and their security, particularly considering the level of difficulty and expense to achieve and retain this voluntary certification. Another advantage for operators is that they no longer have to spend time and resources on individual audits: they are given peace of mind that the SAS accredited facilities have demonstrated their ability to produce high volumes of high quality SIM cards while adhering to a most strict set of standardized security criteria.

In addition to Montgomeryville, Gemalto has several other facilities around the world that are SAS certified. More than 400 operators and one billion subscribers worldwide use Gemalto's solutions, including SIM cards and over-the-air (OTA) managed services.