Gemalto's Production Facility First in Americas to Receive Prestigious Security Certification From GSM Association.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Gemalto today announced that its production facility in the United States is the first in the Americas to receive the prestigious Security Accreditation Scheme (SAS) certification from the GSM Association. This certification validates that Gemalto's production site and Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card production processes meet the GSM Association's stringent standards for security and data protection.

"We agree with the GSM Association that maintaining the inherent security of the GSM system is fundamental to its ongoing success and the success of its operators," said Mac McKinnon, vice president, telecommunications North America, Gemalto. "Therefore, we view this certification as necessary to ensure that GSM operators in the Americas have complete confidence that our production sites have rigorous security procedures in place to keep all SIM cards and data protected."

The GSM Association's SIM card Security Accreditation Scheme (SAS) is a stringent industry initiative that aims to further enhance the integrity of the SIM card. It is a voluntary certification whereby suppliers of SIM cards, like Gemalto, subject their production sites and processes to a comprehensive security audit. The security audit covers security policy and procedures, information security, personnel security, physical security, IT security, logistics and production management. Through its SAS accreditation, the GSM Association takes the burden off GSM operators to spend time and resources on individual audits. At the same time, it gives the operators peace of mind that SIM card suppliers at the accredited plants have demonstrated their ability to produce high volume SIM products to a strict set of standardized security criteria.

Gemalto's production facility in the United States integrates all smart card production technologies into a single manufacturing process. This one-of-a-kind microelectronics production capability, unique in all of the Americas, converts integrated circuits on wafers into modules--the heart of the company's smart cards, SIM cards, tokens and other form factors.

Gemalto uses a manufacturing management model called "Lean Sigma," which combines two world class manufacturing processes: Lean Manufacturing and Six Sigma. Lean Manufacturing centers on improved efficiency throughout the production value stream, and Six Sigma on continuously improving production process quality. The Gemalto plants have been producing secure cards continuously since 1964.

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

"Receiving this accreditation is another success in our ongoing effort for our production facilities to meet and surpass all industry standards," added Lou Bisasky, manufacturing North America, Gemalto.