Awareness Increases About Identity Issues

May 22, 2007 3:18 PM

The Smart Card Alliance Identity Council provided education on and increased awareness of identity issues and technologies in its first year, focusing particularly on new government initiatives REAL ID and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). The Council has announced its accomplishments for the last year, plans for the upcoming year and newly elected officers and steering committee members, including chair Neville Pattinson, vice president of government affairs and standards for Gemalto North America, Arlington, Va.

"I am proud to be elected chair of a council that addresses the need for trusted and secure identities, a topic critical for citizens, governments and enterprises today," says Pattinson. "I look forward to working with the Smart Card Alliance and participating organizations to educate and campaign for solutions that enhance privacy and the security of identity information."

In 2006, 74 individuals from 44 Smart Card Alliance member organizations participated in the Identity Council. The Council created a number of educational resources promoting the need for better use of technologies and policies regarding human identity information, all found here.

The Council's first white paper, The Top 10 Hot Identity Topics, discusses challenges associated with current identity systems and offers perspectives on how these critical issues can be addressed through policy, identity proofing processes and technology solutions. The Council also created the Identity, Smart Card Technology and Application Glossary, a comprehensive A to Z guide to identity.

The Identity Council provided education on the use of smart card technology for major government initiatives such as WHTI passport cards, and REAL ID driver's licenses and identification cards with the position paper, "The REAL ID Act: Why Real ID Cards Should Be Based on Smart Card Technology."

Another imperative for the Identity Council is to educate stakeholders on the use of radio frequency (RF) technologies for identity applications. Council-created resources on the topic include the papers, "RF-Enabled Applications and Technology: Comparing and Contrasting RFID and RF-Enabled Smart Cards," "Best Practices for the Use of RF-Enabled Technology in Identity Management Applications," and "EPC Gen 2 RFID Tags vs. Contactless Smart Cards: Frequently Asked Questions."

"In this information age, many organizations use technology to increase efficiency and lower costs; however, the privacy and security of identity information must always be the top priority, especially in government applications that affect citizens," says Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "The Identity Council materials provide educational resources on how all of these benefits can be achieved with the proper choice of technology."

In the coming year, the Identity Council's priorities will include: maintaining public policy and education focus on federal and state use of identity technology; providing focus for discussions on RFID vs. RF-enabled smart card technology; exploring and demonstrating the linkage of smart cards and biometrics in identity applications; and expanding the Council focus to enterprise identity applications.

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