Exostar has come to Paris to promote the new Certipath trusted identity assurance system, a so-called commercial bridge between defense and aeronautics firms and government customers, primarily the Pentagon and the UK Ministry of Defence. A joint venture formed by Exostar, Arinc and SITA, Certipath validates the identity of individuals and companies doing business with governments, avoiding the time and expense associated with government-run identity systems such as the U.S. Federal Bridge Certification Authority.

Defense agencies require medium-level identity assurance certificates to access their Web sites and digitally sign unclassified documents. In simple terms, Certipath provides a secure way to transmit data across a public network by ensuring the integrity of the information received and validating the identity of the sender. It establishes a single electronic employee credential used and accepted across multiple organizations with legally binding, global electronic signatures.

“The Federal Bridge wasn’t meant to accommodate a large number of companies,” said Exostar CEO Bill Angeloni during an interview just before the show. “This will. The aim isn’t profits; it’s a collaborative effort to reduce the cost and complexity involved [in using the Federal Bridge].” A fee of about $350,000 secures a company’s place in line for the service.

Formed by BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and Rolls-Royce during the 2000 Farnborough air show, Exostar provides a single point of connection for electronic security, commerce and collaboration for global manufacturers, government agencies and aerospace and defense organizations. More than 16,000 trading partners use its external supply network for managing business processes and information across the extended supply chain.

Exostar’s growing list of customers includes a large cross section of international companies and government agencies that buy and sell products and/or services in the commercial, military and government sectors. Its customer base ranges from small and medium-size enterprises up to some of the world’s largest manufacturers and aerospace and defense organizations.

The company is based in Herndon, Virginia.

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