Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

SecurityWeekSecurityWeek

Funding/M&A

Entrust Datacard Acquires Spanish Firm Safelayer

Minneapolis-based identity firm Entrust Datacard has acquired Barcelona, Spain firm Safelayer Secure Communications. Financial details have not been disclosed.

Minneapolis-based identity firm Entrust Datacard has acquired Barcelona, Spain firm Safelayer Secure Communications. Financial details have not been disclosed.

Against a background of increasing digitization of both commerce and government, Entrust Datacard provides trusted identity and secure transaction technologies. Safelayer complements this with software for public key infrastructure (PKI) solutions, multifactor authentication systems, electronic signature, encryption and secure transactions, and for generating trust services in telematic networks such as the Internet and mobile networks.

The two key reasons for the acquisition appear to be geographic expansion (Safelayer is particularly strong in the EU and Latin America); and Safelayer’s eIDAS competencies.

On the former, Anudeep Parhar, CIO at Entrust Datacard, commented, “At Entrust Datacard we are committed to being the industry leader in certificate-based security solutions across the regions we serve. As such, we look forward to bringing Safelayerís established PKI and Electronic Trust Services in EMEA and Latin America into our portfolio.”

On the latter, he said, “The strong and talented team at Safelayer, coupled with their digital signature solution and eIDAS competencies, enhances our team and further establishes our commitment to accredited trust services across these regions and globally.”

eIDAS, standing for ‘electronic identification and trust services’, is an EU Regulation that came into force in July 2016. As a Regulation it is required law in all EU member states. Its purpose is to enhance trust in electronic transactions between businesses, citizens and public authorities by providing a common legal framework for the cross-border recognition of electronic ID and consistent rules on trust services across the EU.

It provides a framework that allows EU citizens to use electronic ID to access public services in other member states; and establishes requirements for trust services and how trust service providers can gain qualified status.

In 2016, Safelayer became a founding member of the Cloud Signature Consortium. Its purpose is to develop a new standard for cloud-based digital signatures that will meet the requirements of eIDAS — a standard that it expects to have a global impact.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

In addition to market expansion opportunities, says Entrust Datacard in announcing the acquisition, it “also provides Entrust Datacard with Safelayerís best-in-class eIDAS-compliant digital signature technology. The digital signing solution is a comprehensive platform for eIDAS trust services that combines authentication, single sign on (SSO) and identity federation; the solution incorporates PKI for implementing electronic signature functions.”

Entrust Datacard intends to maintain Safelayer’s Spanish offices and existing staff.

This is Entrust Datacardís second security acquisition in under six months. The company made an investment in CensorNet and acquired its SMS Passcode solution in July 2018.

Related: China Demands Internet Platforms Verify Users’ True Identity 

Related: CASC Releases Minimum Requirements for Code Signing Certificates

Written By

Kevin Townsend is a Senior Contributor at SecurityWeek. He has been writing about high tech issues since before the birth of Microsoft. For the last 15 years he has specialized in information security; and has had many thousands of articles published in dozens of different magazines – from The Times and the Financial Times to current and long-gone computer magazines.

Click to comment

Trending

Daily Briefing Newsletter

Subscribe to the SecurityWeek Email Briefing to stay informed on the latest threats, trends, and technology, along with insightful columns from industry experts.

Join the session as we discuss the challenges and best practices for cybersecurity leaders managing cloud identities.

Register

SecurityWeek’s Ransomware Resilience and Recovery Summit helps businesses to plan, prepare, and recover from a ransomware incident.

Register

Expert Insights

Related Content

Application Security

Cycode, a startup that provides solutions for protecting software source code, emerged from stealth mode on Tuesday with $4.6 million in seed funding.

Cybersecurity Funding

SecurityWeek investigates how political/economic conditions will affect venture capital funding for cybersecurity firms during 2023.

Identity & Access

Zero trust is not a replacement for identity and access management (IAM), but is the extension of IAM principles from people to everyone and...

Cyber Insurance

Cyberinsurance and protection firm Boxx Insurance raises $14.4 million in a Series B funding round led by Zurich Insurance.

CISO Strategy

Okta is blaming the recent hack of its support system on an employee who logged into a personal Google account on a company-managed laptop.

Cybersecurity Funding

2022 Cybersecurity Year in Review: Top news headlines and trends that impacted the security ecosystem

Cybersecurity Funding

Network security provider Corsa Security last week announced that it has raised $10 million from Roadmap Capital. To date, the company has raised $50...

Compliance

Government agencies in the United States have made progress in the implementation of the DMARC standard in response to a Department of Homeland Security...