WISeKey and Alinghi: Leadership made In Switzerland

When, last fall, WISekey, the

bespoke digital security

solutions company, was named

the sole provider of security software

and services to the high-tech sailing

syndicate, Alinghi, as it prepares to

defend its America’s Cup title against

challenger BMW Oracle in 2010, Carlos

Moreira, the Geneva firm’s founder and

CEO, thought the timing was perfect.

Switzerland, like most of the world’s

leading countries and brands, was com-

ing out of a tough 2009. The WISeKey-

Alinghi partnership, Moreira reasoned,

features two of Switzerland’s most futuris-

tic technology-driven organizations. Their

renewed partnership on the global stage

is as good a signal as any to the world that

Switzerland will bounce back, and tech-

nology “Made in Switzerland” was deter-

mined to be a force in this new decade.

Secure sailing ahead WISeKey SA has developed state-of-

the-art digital security systems to protect

Alinghi’s operations, brand and sailing

technology during the race, a four-day

150-year-old event with a huge global fol-

lowing, which befits its status as one of

the world’s oldest sporting events.

The range of services WISeKey provides

Alinghi includes securing and hosting Alin-

ghi public and confidential websites, creat-

ing and distributing biometric-protected

electronic tokens to privileged fans and

staff, and creating digital signature cer-

tificates to eliminate environmental

waste for the sailing syndicate’s transac-

tions and facilities during America’s Cup.

WISeKey will also provide secure accredi-

tation devices for all Alinghi facilities,

including electronic identity credentials

and USB data storage security tokens.

“We are proud to be named the sole

provider of Alinghi’s electronic security

solutions,” comments Carlos Moreira.

“WISeKey and Alinghi share many values.

We both deeply believe in integrity, excel-

lence and the transforming possibilities of

first-rate technology. And we are proud of

inheriting the tradition of building win-

ning organizations in Switzerland.”

The deal was a coup for 10-year-

old WISeKey. It repeats a success first

achieved during the last America’s Cup

in 2007. The America’s Cup sailing re-

gatta match has been around since 1857.

It is the oldest active international sport-

ing trophy, predating the modern Olym-

pic Games by 45 years. Featuring the best

sailors and resources in the world, Amer-

ica’s Cup is often hotly contested and

very popular. The 2007 edition in Valen-

cia captured television global audiences

of up to 200 million viewers and featured

spying charges as boat syndicates grap-

pled for an edge. The 2010 edition prom-

ises to be similarly seductive for global

audiences, especially because of plans to

reach the large multimedia audiences.

“We are delighted to welcome back

WISeKey as a sponsor of Alinghi for the

33rd America’s Cup, says Ernesto Bertarel-

li, Alinghi team president. “As a team

we need to share and access confidential

information, such as design data, so se-

curity is paramount in our campaign to

try and win the America’s Cup again. Our

partnership with WISeKey will ensure

that we have the optimum protection.”

And more to come During the next America’s Cup,

WISeKey will release its next generation

of WISeAuthentic products, including the

WISeNetBook and eKey+, a portable secure

ID device for organizations and execu-

tives with sensitive data to access. A typical

eKey+ user site default page can require

using fingerprint or password for access

and the use of SSL client authentication

to establish the encrypted SSL sessions.

WISeKey provides Alinghi and industries

and governments with sensitive infor-

mation, facilities and online and off-line

events they want to improve with user-

friendly and strong identity authenticat-

ing products and services.

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THE SWISS STYLE

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM SPECIAL DAVOS

— SUSTAINABILITY: WISEKEY AND ALINGHI: LEADERSHIP MADE IN SWITZERLAND »»» by Jules Landon

WISeKey’s eKey+ – combining a biometric token device with the WISekey eSecurity Suite to produce secure and highly trustworthy interactions with websites … perfect for globe-trotting executives and their companies

59

The eKey+ is a revolutionary concept

newly developed by WISekey. It combines

a biometric token device with the WISekey

eSecurity Suite to produce secure and highly

trustworthy interactions with websites. In

short, it’s the USB key James Bonds would

use. That’s why it’s perfect for globe-trot-

ting executives and their companies.

Designed to help increase trust be-

tween users and web services providers,

the security software suite offers corpora-

tions, small business owners and govern-

ment agencies the ability to give their

customers and colleagues access to their

sensitive data to perform transactions

from unsecured access points anywhere

in the world.

Meeting the ever-increasing need for security The potential for fraud is a major

hurdle for the evolution and growth of

online commerce, according to the Orga-

nization for Economic Co-Operation and

Development (OECD). Identity theft is

defined as the process of using someone

else’s personal information for your own

personal gain.

In 2008, identity theft worldwide in-

creased by 22% from 2007. The Aberdeen

Group has estimated that US$ 221 billion

a year is lost by businesses worldwide

due to identity theft.

WISeKey’s position as a leader in

electronic ID management systems to

facilitate electronic transactions is very

timely. A combination of popular culture

trends, regulatory pressures and e-com-

merce growth are pushing people to be

up front about who they are on the Web.

Millions of users enshrouded in anonym-

ity to engage in everything from bullying

to spamming, identity theft to financial

fraud are in trouble.

To help users establish their identi-

ties online and protect themselves against

cybercriminals, software companies like

WISeKey and websites such as Amazon.com

and eBay’s PayPal require customers to en-

ter personal information on a site-by-site ba-

sis. Yet there aren’t enough widely accepted

identity standards – the online equi-valents

of a driver’s licence or social security num-

ber. Even Facebook is reportedly attempting

to get in on WISeKey’s market.

“There isn’t anything built into the

architecture of the Web that lets you veri-

fy who you are,” Moreira says. “WISeKey’s

systems have been the closest thing for

ten years now.”

The eKey+ Biometric USB includes a digi-

tal certificate that provides the individual

user with the highest level of security, en-

abling identification, authentication, se-

cure encrypted communications (e-mail,

website, etc), electronic signatures and non-

repudiation. The WISeKey Personal eIDs as-

sociate the identity of a person with a digi-

tal identity. On the one hand, a digital ID,

or eID, can be viewed as Digital Passports

that inform Internet users about their in-

terlocutors’ identity and ensure electronic

messages confidentiality. A performance

improvement is achieved through offload-

ing computer intensive cryptographic op-

erations from the computer to the external

eKey+ Biometric USB.

Bootable eKey+ Biometric USB is the

latest module in WISekey’s family of

hardware e-security products, built on

the company’s extensive experience in

working with banks and governments,

organizations which have the most strin-

gent security requirements.

The Swiss bounce back – to stay With these innovations under its

belt, the deal with Alinghi concluded a

banner year for WISeKey. The World Eco-

nomic Forum, the foundation renowned

for its annual conference in Davos of

CEOs and thinkers on ethics and global-

ization, last September named WISeKey a

“New Champion” among “Global Growth

Companies (GGCs) at the forefront of

demonstrating how entrepreneurship,

innovation and technology can relaunch

global growth.”

Also, in 2009, WISeKey announced

plans to open operations in China and

Abu Dhabi. Its partnerships in Brazil

launched a pioneering program to use

the Web to generate popular support for

carbon offsetting programs to help save

the Amazon jungle.

Alinghi rejoins a cast of WISeKey cli-

ents and partners that are diverse and top

of the line, including Microsoft, luxury

watchmaker Hublot and IKEA. WISekey

will be joining Hublot in this partnership

with Alinghi. The move combines the

breakthrough technology WISekey has

developed for Hublot in the fight against

counterfeiting with its work to counter

corporate espionage for Alinghi.

In the process, the three Swiss firms

want the world to know that Switzerland

is back as technology and global business

powerhouse – and it is here to stay. «««

59

Carlos Moreira, Founder & CEO, WISekey, Pierre-François Unger, Geneva’s Minister of Economy, and Ernesto Bertarelli, President Alinghi

letting the world know that Switzerland is back as technology and global business powerhouse

“WISekey will be joining Hublot in this partnership with Alinghi. The move combines the breakthrough technology WISekey has developed for Hublot in the fight against counterfeiting with its work to counter corporate espionage for Alinghi”