SecureIDNews | Avocent expands support for smart cards

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Avocent Corp., a provider of IT operations management, announced it has expanded its support for Smart Card/Common Access Card (CAC) technology for both desktop and the data center environments. This technology helps U.S. federal agencies and contractors comply with HSPD 12, which mandates a common identification process for employees for security reasons.

In the data center, Avocent’s DSView 3 Management Software and DSR switch appliances now support Smart Card/CAC reader technology. These systems track who has access to which IT systems and data, and dictates who has control of data center management capabilities inside government systems and facilities. This technology enables Smart Card/CAC readers to be located away from the data center but still allows for secure connectivity to data center assets.

At the desktop, Avocent’s SwitchView SC switch line is validated by the National Information Assurance Partnership Common Criteria to EAL 4+ and incorporates additional security features to ensure data protection in the secure environment without limiting the user experience. These features ensure users, such as security analysts, can use just one console to safely access data stored on multiple computers – each operating at different levels of classification, saving time and reducing complexity. All Avocent Smart Card/CAC enabled products support the USB Chip/Smart integrated Circuit(s) Cards Interface Device (CCID) specification.

Report: Smart card market sets to reach 10.9 billion by 2015

Global Industry Analysts Inc. released a report forecasting the outlook on the global smart card market to reach 10.9 billion units by 2015.

GIA credits the growth driven largely by major initiatives in the financial, government and security sectors, with the telecom sector at the way ahead of the pack as the largest end-user. Increasing usage of contactless technology, newer applications and mandatory EMV migration across countries are also major drivers boosting the global market for smart cards.

Malware attacks smart cards

A variant of malware called Sykipot is circulating that purportedly enables it to hijack U.S. Defense Department Common Access Cards and Windows smart cards, according to Alien Vault Labs. This variant, which appears to have been put together in March 2011, has been seen in dozens of attack samples from the past year.

Cheshire expands smart card offering to UK college campuses

Cheshire Integrated Transport Services teamed up with Applied Card Technologies (ACT) and sQuid to expand a UK smart card offering to the West Cheshire College and Chester College campuses.

Smart cards replace paper coupons in Indian prison

Prisoners at Tihar prisons, located near New Delhi, India, will now be using smart cards instead of paper coupons for their food purchases.

As reported by The Economic Times, the former system of paper food coupons led to misuse and illegal activity within the jail. Some prisoners would use it for currency in order to get banned substances or buy favors from others.

LEGIC expands presence in China with new partnerships

Switzerland’s LEGIC has announced two new partnerships that will bring the company’s contactless smart card technology to China.

Radio Frequency Systems, a manufacturer of contactless smart card technology, will use the LEGIC advant 4000 chip generation to create new reader modules for access control applications.

DigitalPersona's Pro Enterprise enables "mix and match" authentication

DigitalPersona released a new version of its Pro Enterprise authentication device. It now contains the ability to support a number of new authentication credentials, enabling organizations to mix and match the ways in which employees securely identify themselves to Microsoft Windows and other applications.

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Avocent expands support for smart cards