Bermuda Retains Quo Vadis To Implement Next Phase Of E-Government Project
by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London
25 October 2004

Certification service provider for the international insurance and financial services sectors, Quo Vadis, announced last week that it has been retained by the government of Bermuda to provide digital identity services as part of its ongoing e-Government Portal Project.

Commenting on the decision, Minister for Telecommunications and E-Commerce, the Hon. Michael Scott stated: “Reflecting the sophistication of the Bermuda marketplace, Government is committed to leveraging the Internet to better serve our users, whether they are local residents seeking to register a vehicle or multinational companies making a regulatory filing.”

He continued: “We have selected Quo Vadis to help provide the identity cornerstone for the next phase of the Portal, ensuring that Government can properly identify users and protect privacy, as well as foster the integrity and accountability of our web services offerings.”

Under the first phase of the e-government project, Bermuda introduced a central portal uniting the informational websites of more than sixty government agencies. Using software from Plumtree, the portal provides a flexible central platform for government’s planned rollout of online transactions.

Under the agreement with Bermuda, Quo Vadis will operate a digital certificate authority for the government under the provisions of applicable local laws and regulation. Digital certificates are a form of non-forgeable electronic ID that may be used to identify online users and resources, to create legally binding electronic signatures, and to encrypt data for privacy.

“To ensure its competitiveness as a jurisdiction, Bermuda has consistently been a leader in formulating legislation and updating infrastructure to make e-commerce possible,” observed Roman Brunner, chief executive of the Quo Vadis Group.

“With its rigorous approach to security and identity management in its e-government planning and Portal, the Bermuda Government is reinforcing the island’s reputation for responsibility and trust,” he added.

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