HSPD-12, ePassports Headline Smart Card Alliance 4th Annual Smart Cards in eGovernment Conference

Princeton Junction, NJ, February 10, 2005 ˆ Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) and chip-enabled U.S. passports headline the agenda at the Smart Card Alliance 4th Annual Smart Cards in eGovernment Conference and Exhibition on March 9th through 11th, 2005 at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. The conference brings government and industry leaders together in an interactive, educational forum to discuss and debate the important business and technical issues involving government adoption of smart cards.

The conference will cover HSPD-12 and FIPS 201 in-depth, providing attendees with critical information that will help them deploy smart cards on the accelerated timeline that HSPD-12 requires. “Government adoption of smart card technology is impacting identity management and security far beyond Washington, D.C. and is affecting the entire market,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. “Developments in recent months have significantly advanced HSPD-12 and the ePassport program. NIST released new technical and implementation standards impacting HSPD-12, while DHS and the State Department undertook interoperability testing for ePassports. This conference will provide the latest information on both initiatives, directly from the government and industry leaders making them happen.”

Among those government leaders speaking are Judith Spencer, chair of the federal credentialing committee of the GSA who will offer implementation guidance on HSPD-12; Larry Jellen, general manager for the security and intelligent document unit of the GPO who will discuss ‘New Directions and Challenges for Secure Documents’; and Rob Atkinson, vice president of the Progressive Policy Institute, who will speak on ‘The Legislative Environment for Identity Management.’

Sessions organized under the Business and Implementation Track focus on how the federal government is dealing with the business application and policy decisions that change along with the technology. Topics include alternative approaches to document security; cross credentialing; convergence of payment, physical and logical security; and understanding change management. In Government Smart Cards in Action panels, John Moore of GSA moderates interactive discussions surrounding case studies from the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, State and Treasury as well as the General Services Administration and the Transportation Security Administration.

The Technology Track focuses on the technical issues of smart cards and standards relevant to federal IDs and physical and logical access security systems. Standards experts from NIST will give an overview of the FIPS 201 and SP 800-73 requirements and in other sessions, a panel representing the government‚s interoperability advisory board and a panel of card, reader, middleware suppliers and systems integrators will discuss how to meet the challenges of HSPD-12. Additional technology topics will include ePassport standards, biometrics applications and approaches to conformance testing of chips, readers and software that go into government identity cards and travel documents.

“This conference is an opportunity for federal government leaders responsible for policy and technical standards, federal agencies and vendors to come together in one event to learn from one another,” added Vanderhoof.

Once again, the Alliance will host the open Federal Government Smart Card Project Manager‚s meeting to kick off the event on the morning of the 9th. This bi-monthly meeting, hosted by GSA‚s Office of Government-wide Policy, includes updates from government leaders on smart card-related programs. After the open meeting concludes at noon, the exhibit hall will be open for a two-hour lunch break. The conference starts at 2 p.m. for registered attendees and includes a keynote address followed by featured speaker sessions on major issues relating to government smart card systems deployment.

Birds of a Feather Roundtable discussions return this year, and the Smart Card Alliance Educational Institute will host a pre-conference educational workshop on March 8th immediately preceding the full conference program. The full day Government Secure Credentialing Workshop offers an in-depth look at how the technology works and how the federal government will use it.

The exhibit hall will include 34 exhibitors showcasing much of the technology that will be used in current and future government and commercial rollouts. Conference sponsors and exhibitors include Axalto, Oberthur, HID, Gemplus, SuperCom, Atmel and Giesecke & Devrient, all of whom play key roles in top U.S. government projects, such as the Transportation Worker Identity Credential, the Common Access Card, ePassport and the Registered Traveler program.

The conference is open to all organizations and individuals who wish to learn about the role of smart cards in government. Member organizations and government employees receive discounted pricing for single day or full conference registrations. The agenda and online registration can be found on the Alliance website, http://www.smartcardalliance.org.

About the Smart Card Alliance The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to accelerate the acceptance of smart card technology. Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The Alliance is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry discussion on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S. For more information please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org.

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