Government ID, Smart Cards, Identification and Authentication

U.S. government smart card efforts get major boost from the President, NIST, and ISO

Sunday, October 24, 2004

Keeping tabs on the U.S. federal government’s smart card progress is tough. Memorize a list of acronyms today and they are likely to become old news as new agencies and initiatives take precedence. Though somewhat frustrating, this is a very positive indicator of the rapid progress being made as the U.S. federal government’s smart card approach matures. In recent weeks, this progress has been further expedited by a Presidential Directive (HSPD-12), a national standardization effort (FIPS 201), and progress toward a potential international standard (ISO 24727).

There are 835 words in the rest of this article …

Library Access Required

Library subscribers have access to the full archives of more than 10,000 original news items and feature articles published by AVISIAN’s suite of ID technology publications (ContactlessNews.com, CR80News.com, DigitalIDNews.com, FIPS201.com, NFCNews.com, RFIDNews.org, SecureIDNews.com, and ThirdFactor.com).

For just $49, you receive unlimited password-protected access to content on all of AVISIAN’s sites for an entire year. Your subscription helps fund the continued creation of independent, insightful content. Find out more.

Sign in as a Subscriber

If you are already a subscriber, you may sign in now. Enter your Email Address and Password and click Sign In.

Email Address →
Password →
Action →

If you have forgotten your password, enter just your Email Address, and click Send Password.

Email Address →
Action →

The South African Ministry of Home Affairs announced the expansion of its smart ID card pilot program, reports IT Web.

According to Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni, the smart ID card program is part of an effort by the national government to shed its racist past and create one identification card for all citizens. It will replace the current civic and immigration identity systems and capture demographic and biometric data of all South Africans and foreign nationals.

read more »

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed and published a new protocol for devices to capture biometric data wirelessly and securely using Web services.

read more »

Thursby Software Systems, Inc. has released the PKard Reader, a touch Web browser solution for the iOS that includes secure authentication to a personal smart card.

read more »

The National Institute of Standards and Technology released a report detailing the evaluation of iris recognition software from 11 different organizations, finding that this method of identification is getting easier and faster, albeit with less accurate results.

read more »

NIST not releasing names

Twenty-seven finalists for grants that would pilot portions of the identity ecosystem for the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace have been notified.

read more »

West Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority (WYITA received a cash boost in its plans to roll out a smart card-based ticketing system, according to The Telegraph & Argus.

read more »