Thales, an information and communication systems security, completed a security upgrade of the SARIE payment system in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Under the contract awarded by the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), Thales provided the end-to-end security components for the SARIE RTGS (real-time gross settlement), system which protects the 14 trillion Saudi Riyal ($3.7 trillion) payment transactions made in the Kingdom every year. The project has been delivered through ITS (International Turnkey System), Thaless channel partner in the region.
The contract enables the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to have flexible and secure RTGS payments infrastructure. Thaless security upgrade secures SARIE payments with the latest encryption and digital signature techniques. The security techniques are aligned with the latest international banking standards.
The partnership of SAMA and Thales has lasted for over ten years. This time Thales has replaced the existing key management system with a solution compatible with the SAMA PKI (public key infrastructure) gateway, whilst the Thales WebSentry provides SAMAs employees with cryptographic functions such as secure log-on, encryption and message authentication.
SAMAs banking community is supported by Thales Host Security Module (HSM 8000) platform combining digital signatures with smart cards to secure access and secure Interbank payments, guaranteeing non-repudiation.
Through the security upgrade, the SAMA SARIE keys and certificates will now be managed through a PKI enabling SAMA to maintain a trustworthy networking environment, says Paul Meadowcroft, head of transactions security for the Information Systems Security activities, Thales. The Thales upgrade of the SAMA SARIE network ensures the region remains at the forefront of secure payments systems.
Given our long-term working relationship and Thaless expertise and experience in security solutions, the company was the natural choice for our SARIE security upgrade, says Saqer Al Harthi, security and control manager, Banking Technology Department, Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. This latest upgrade means that Saudi Arabias national banks are benefiting from the most advanced encryption techniques available to secure high and low value same-day and forward-dated payments as well as direct debits.
L.D.