The interest in using smart ID cards for dual purposes by government agencies and commercial businesses is increasing, as well as implementations in the United States, according to a new Smart Card Alliance white paper recently released.

According to the paper, the need for more secure credentials and the requirement to do more to secure information systems and networks are two major needs driving both sectors to converge on smart cards for access control.

Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, says now that information security is a boardroom issue and not just a technical issue, organizations are starting to do something about it. “They are introducing a new generation of smart IDs that use the embedded computer chip for active security and anti-counterfeiting measures, biometrics and network authentication,” he said.

One of the most important aspects of this is that these credentials can be machine verified, putting security past the realm of ‘looking good’ to a human inspector and into the realm of an encrypted, digitally signed and virtually counterproof credential, an advantage that is very attractive to the U.S. government, concluded Vanderhoof.

“Using Smart Cards for Secure Physical Access White Paper” provides a comprehensive look at physical access control systems that use a smart ID card for personal identification, and is designed as an educational overview for decision-makers and security planners.

Individuals from 28 organizations, both public and private, were involved in the development of the white paper. Lead contributors included representatives from ASSA ABLOY ITG, ActivCard, NASA, Honeywell Access Systems (OmniTek), Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and others. The report is available at no charge at www.smartcardalliance.org.

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