Council announces first year results, new officers and plans for 2007

Princeton Junction, NJ, April 16, 2007–With leading banks issuing millions of contactless credit and debit cards, and retailers increasingly accepting them, the Smart Card Alliance Contactless Payments Council took on the role of educator in its first year, providing resources on every aspect of the technology. The Council today announced its first year results, as well as the newly elected officers and plans for the upcoming year.

FIPS 201 PIV card demonstration and HSPD-12 experts’ panel session on March 28^th

Princeton Junction, NJ, March 21, 2007–With smart cards for IT and physical access in the issuance phase for all federal employees and contractors, the impact of the federal government’s Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) on identity management systems and physical access control will be the focus of the Smart Card Alliance’s presence at ISC West, March 28-30 at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas. In addition to the Smart Card Alliance, over 25 Smart Card Alliance members are exhibiting at ISC West, demonstrating a full range of products to implement smart card-based physical and logical access systems.

HSPD-12, TWIC, traveler IDs, REAL ID and privacy included in the 3-day agenda

Princeton Junction, NJ, March 8, 2007–Both government identity programs in full swing and new identity programs for 2007 will be hot topics among government and industry leaders at the Smart Card Alliance’s 6th Annual Smart Cards in Government Conference. Government and industry speakers will discuss HSPD-12-driven employee ID cards, the Transportation Worker Identity Credential (TWIC) program, and electronic passports (ePassports), as well as upcoming initiatives for cross-border citizen identification cards and the REAL ID reforms for drivers licenses. The conference will be held April 11-13 at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Centre in Washington DC.

Online course available at http://www.smartcardtraining.com

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, March 5, 2007–Smart cards are becoming commonplace around the world, used in financial, healthcare, identity, security, transportation and telecommunications applications. As such, it’s important for individuals who provide products and services or who may become users of smart cards in these industries to be grounded in the basic fundamentals of this emerging and evolving technology.

HIMSS07 Annual Conference and Exhibition, New Orleans, LA, February 26, 2007–As the healthcare industry is increasingly challenged with identity fraud, difficult insurance claims, decentralized storage of medical records, thin financial margins and government demand for secure, portable, and confidential patient information, the need for effective use of information technology (IT) is becoming essential. However, increased computerization, reliance on databases, and movement of sensitive patient information require strict controls to safeguard the security and confidentiality of healthcare records.

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, Feb. 9, 2007–Luminaries in the information industry made it clear at the just-concluded RSA 2007 conference that smart cards are going to have a vital role to play in protecting digital information and identities in the future.

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, Jan. 29, 2007–The Smart Card Alliance Identity Council has released guidance regarding best practices for organizations implementing radio frequency (RF) technology in identity management systems.

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, January 18, 2007–Smart cards are increasingly favored by information technology (IT) professionals to protect company information, the privacy of customer records, and to achieve regulatory compliance. The Smart Card Alliance will explain why at a tutorial at RSA Conference 2007 on Monday, February 5th from 9:00am–3:30pm. RSA attendees will also want to add to their itineraries a stop at booth 1742, the Smart Card Pavilion–one of the highlights of last year’s event–and the panel discussion on government identity credentialing projects around the world, featuring government and privacy experts including Executive Director Randy Vanderhoof.

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, December 04, 2006–The U.S. government should reconsider using vicinity read RFID technology for implementing the passport card program, the Smart Card Alliance states in its response to the Department of State’s October 17 Federal Register notice announcing the technology choice for the program. The passport card has been proposed as an identification card for U.S. citizens who do not have passports to verify their identity at land and sea border crossings.

PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ, November 14, 2006–With more than 73,000 visitors and 18,000 downloads per month, the Smart Card Alliance Web site is the premier resource for information and news about smart card technology and its application for payments, identity management and eGovernment. Now, visitors can easily find exactly what they need with fewer clicks at the Alliance’s fully redesigned Web site, http://www.smartcardalliance.org.