The Department of Technology intends to award a competitively bid contract for encryption technologies to Comodo CA Limited, according to correspondence this week.
The vendor will provide Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificates, Managed Public Key Infrastructure (MPKI) functionalities, and maintenance and support for at least two years.
"The [CDT] Office of Digital Innovation and Technology Engagement is responsible for the delivery of digital services to the state of California. One of the key historical service[s] provided by the data center is providing the necessary tools and means in order to ensure that state infrastructure and data are properly encrypted in order to safeguard all types of private- and security-related data, leveraging secure certificate technologies for all state entities," the bid released in early February said.
The Office Technology Services brokers contract and licensing of certificate management software, including Comodo products, and may serve as a liaison between the certificate vendors for technical issues, on behalf of state government customers.
"Secure certificates should be used if information in transit between different computer networks needs to be protected," a 2016 guide from OTech said.
Comodo, which maintains its headquarters in Clifton, N.J., and has an office in Silicon Valley, claims it has 40 percent global market share for digital signature technology.
"Digital certificates provide the backbone for information security, and with the growing need to secure everything digital, certificate management becomes increasingly complex. The problem will get much worse as enterprises turn to certificates to better manage security for the 21 billion Internet of Things (IoT) devices expected by 2020. The need for better IoT security is underscored by the recent spate of record-breaking DDoS attacks, powered by compromised security cameras and other devices," Comodo explained in a recent announcement.
