Digicert Sdn Bhd, a Pos Malaysia subsidiary, plans to export its expertise in digital certification and security to countries in South-East Asia and the Middle East in the near future, its chief executive officer Noor Azli Othman said.

The company has held preliminary talks with several parties in those regions, he added.

Noor Azli also said the number of Digicert's key corporate clients is expected to swell to 15, serving three million subscribers by end-2008.

The firm now has five corporate clients with 500,000 subscribers. They include the Inland Revenue Department, Bumiputra-Commerce Bank Bhd and a few government agencies.

The company is now in talks with about 10 government agencies, banks and insurance companies on the prospect of offering its services to them.

Digicert, a 55:45 joint venture between Pos Malaysia and Internet service provider Mimos Bhd, is a certificate authority in Malaysia entrusted to issue and authenticate digital certificates to internet users.

The company, set up in 1998, serves as the key for client authentication to eliminate invasions of privacy and intelligent properties. It is a trusted third party formed under the Malaysia's Digital Signature Act 1997.

Digital certificates, Noor Azli said, act as online identity cards for individuals, corporations or government departments. These online certificates can be used to enhance Internet security against "eavesdropping", message tampering and fraud.

"Internet security is a hot issue. There are rampant instances where false impersonations of individuals and websites have occurred online, and the problem appears to be on the rise," he told Business Times in an interview.

Noor Azli predicts an increasing trend in the company's sales in line with the rise of electronic commerce, but did not give any figures.

"We are moving towards that," he said, when asked whether Digicert would contribute significantly to Pos Malaysia's bottomline.

He noted that digital certification was introduced in Malaysia five years ago but the growth was slow .

"But as more and more users especially financial institutions realise that third-party digital certification is cheaper and more secured than password-based verification, the growth will be very positive," he added.