GTE Takes CyberTrust To Japan

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2-21-97. Newsbytes:

GTE Takes CyberTrust To Japan

By Maryn Williams

Tokyo -- GTE has announced plans to take its CyberTrust certification authority company to Japan through the establishment of a local company. The new company, CyberTrust Japan, Inc., will begin operations in April and is being formed by GTE, B.U.G., Inc. (BUG), Nomura Research Institute, Ltd. (NRI) and NTT Mobile Communications Network Inc. (NTT DoCoMo).

The company acts as a certification authority, a trusted third party that issues electronic certificates for use in electronic commerce. When two parties conduct an electronic transaction a certificate is needed from both to prove they are who they say they are. This needs to be issued by a third party because certificates issued by the companies themselves do not prove anything. The certificates cannot be forged or altered.

The Secure Electronic Transactions (SET) protocol, the only electronic payment standard recognized by American Express, MasterCard, Visa and Japan's JCB Co., Ltd., requires the use of digital certificates.

In the United States, GTE CyberTrust already provides similar services so the new company represents an extension to Japan with local partners. While the four companies will take the majority of the stake, some will be offered to banks and credit card companies, GTE said.