National Archives and Government Printing Office Honored for Digital Authentication Initiatives
Press Release · Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Agencies receive Business Value Award for innovative use of public key infrastructure

Washington, DC…The National Archives Office of the Federal Register and the U.S. Government Printing Office have been honored for their innovative use of public key infrastructure for authenticating electronic submissions to the Federal Register.

The two agencies jointly received a “Business Value Award” from the Four Bridges Forum, a coalition of Federal agencies, the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries, aerospace and defense contractors, and colleges and universities to facilitate trusted electronic business transactions.

“We are honored to share this award with the Government Printing Office. The Federal Register continues to leads in the use of innovative technologies to not only make critical government information easily accessible by the public, but to ensure that the information is accurate, official, and secure,” said Archivist David S. Ferriero.

The Office of the Federal Register and the Government Printing Office use public key infrastructure certificates and digital signatures to authenticate that the content electronically submitted and filed by Federal agencies for publication in the Federal Register. Through use of this technology, both agencies have reduced costs, eliminated paper use, and decreased the turnaround time for the submitting and publishing content in the Federal Register.

The Federal Register, the daily newspaper of the Federal government, is a legal newspaper published every business day by the National Archives. The Federal Register contains Federal Agency Regulations, Proposed Rules and Public Notices, Executive Orders, Proclamations, and other Presidential Documents. The Office of the Federal Register prepares the Federal Register for publication in partnership with the Government Printing Office (GPO). GPO distributes the Federal Register in paper, on microfiche, and online through GPO Access [www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html]. The Federal Register informs citizens of their rights and obligations and provides access to a wide range of Federal benefits and opportunities for funding. For more information, see www.federalregister.gov.

Follow the Federal Register on:
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The National Archives and Records Administration is an independent Federal agency that preserves and shares with the public records that trace the story of our nation, government, and the American people. From the Declaration of Independence to accounts of ordinary Americans, the holdings of the National Archives directly touch the lives of millions of people. The National Archives carries out its mission through a nationwide network of archives, records centers, and Presidential Libraries, and online at www.archives.gov.

The Government Printing Office is the Federal Government's primary resource for producing, procuring, cataloging, indexing, authenticating, disseminating, and preserving the official information products of the U.S. Government in both digital and tangible formats. GPO is responsible for the production and distribution of information products and services for all three branches of the Federal Government, including U.S. passports for the Department of State as well as the official publications of Congress, the White House, and other Federal agencies. In addition to publication sales, GPO provides for permanent public access to Federal Government information at no charge through GPO’s Federal Digital System (www.fdsys.gov) and through partnerships with approximately 1,200 libraries nationwide participating in the Federal Depository Library Program. For more information, please visit www.gpo.gov. Follow GPO on Facebook, Twitter, and on YouTube. For GPO questions, contact Gary Somerset, 202-512-1957, 202-355-3997 (cell), or gsomerset@gpo.gov

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For press information, please contact the National Archives Public Affairs Staff at (202) 357-5300.

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