The Alliance is seeking current and new members interested in participating in the opportunities involving the SCA Latin America project described below to contact the Alliance main office at 1-800-556-6828 or via email to info@smartcardalliance.org.

The Smart Card Alliance Latin America project kicked off on October 19, 2005 with the presentation of the Department of Commerce Market Developer Cooperator Program (MDCP) award totaling $288,000 that forms a partnering effort between the International Trade Administration and SCA to develop international trade and support education, training, and resource development for smart cards in Mexico, Brazil, and the Caribbean Islands.

Recently, the Alliance staff has held organizing meetings with ITA field office personnel in Mexico and Brazil to discuss ways to bring smart card awareness and education to the government and commercial markets in those countries. The Alliance has also met with ITA personnel based in Washington, DC, Philadelphia, and Miami who are in support roles and are prepared to assist the Alliance's Latin American project.

The Alliance has identified two industry conferences it will seek to participate in during the first half of 2005. The first is Cards 2005 in San Paulo, Brazil on April 4-6, 2005. This event has been a successful banking industry and related card technology and services show for ten years. A group from the Alliance and the ITA will attend this conference and introduce SCA Latin America to the vendors and card issuers who attend. Several high level meetings will be organized to generate support for the program moving forward.

The second international opportunity is Security Mexico in Mexico City on May 11-12, 2005. The conference includes a broad range of security-related topics from homeland security to physical access control. We have proposed providing an educational symposium along with a panel session on smart cards to the conference organizers. Also, the ITA is organizing a USA pavilion for US companies to showcase their technology in Mexico at this event.

All of these will lead up to the SCA Fall Annual Conference in Miami in October 2005 when the Alliance will host government and commercial leaders from Latin American countries for a special program and technology fair to bring the industry together in an open forum and information exchange.

Secure Personal ID Task Force
The Secure Personal ID Task Force is currently working on its next project, a briefing document on smart cards and privacy. If you are interested in participating in the Task Force, please email Cathy Medich, Task Force Chair.

Terminal and eTransaction Infrastructure Task Force
The Terminal and eTransaction Infrastructure Task Force is currently working on its new report on consumer payment with mobile devices. If you are interested in participating in the Task Force, please email Cathy Medich, Task Force Chair.

FIPS 140 Smart Card Task Force
The FIPS 140 Smart Card Task Force is investigating and defining a common card platform allowing the establishment of a reference for applet developers to certify against and to developing recommendations to NIST on FIPS 140-2 and FIPS 140-3. If you are interested in participating in this new Task Force, please email Cathy Medich.

Council Report

• The Transportation Council will hold its initial steering committee meeting on Feb. 10-11 to define specific council objectives, deliverables, timeline and membership plan. Members leading this effort are: Mike Dinning, U.S. Department of Transportation/Volpe Center; Greg Garback, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority; Robert Bernard, Port Authority of New York/New Jersey.
• The Physical Access Council is planning its first organizing call with all interested members on Feb. 7 to discuss the council objectives and plans and its first working meeting during the March Smart Card in eGovernment Conference. Members leading this effort are: Bob Merkert, SCM Microsystems; Steve Rogers, Integrated Engineering; Dwayne Pfeiffer, Northrop Grumman; LJ Neve, Maximus.
• Members interested in forming a council focused on smart cards in health care had an organizing call on January 14, with a small group volunteering to develop a formal Health Care Council proposal.

If you are interested in forming or participating in an Alliance council, contact Cathy Medich. Click here to download a description of the council structure, proposal process and council interest feedback form.

New Members

American Express, Inc. – New York, NY  www.americanexpress.com
Membership level: General
Contact: Leigh Malnati, Vice President
Description: International financial services provider

Alliance in the News

The Alliance has an active communications program to promote industry messages in business, vertical market, and technology publications. Coverage results from both Alliance press releases and interviews with publications writing articles about smart cards. Selected recent coverage is shown below with links to online articles.

• Chain Drug Review , 11/8/04, "Dan Cunningham named recipient of the Outstanding Individual award by the Smart Card Alliance" (print)
• Chain Drug Review , 11/8/04, "SCA seeks to expand the role of smart cards" (print)
• Christian Science Monitor , 12/9/04, "Passports go electronic with new microchip" [ link to article ]
• ContactlessNews , 11/30/04, "Transportation ID (TWIC) continues its progress" [ link to article ] (subscription required)
• ContactlessNews , 1/7/05, "Privacy advocates use uninformed journalists to 'smear' contactless passport initiatives" [ link to article ]
• CR80 News, 11/30/04, "Transportation credential (TWIC) continues to make progress" [ link to article ] (subscription required)
• CRM Buyer , 12/18/04, "Passports Go Electronic with New Microchip" [ link to article ]
• Datamation/EarthWeb , 1/11/05, "Eliminate Passwords with OATH" [ link to article ]
• E-Commerce Times , 12/18/04, "Passports Go Electronic with New Microchip" [ link to article ]
• Electronic Payments Week , 11/2/04, "New Hope for U.S. Smart Card Market" (print)
• Government Computer News , 12/13/04, "OMB stands tough on deadline for federal smart cards" [ link to article ]
• Greensheet , 11/8/04, "Available for Adoption: Necessary Solution Needs Good Homes" [ link to article ]
• Greensheet , 11/8/04, "Smart Card Security Report Released" [ link to article ]
• Greensheet , 11/18/04, "Improved Technology Adds to Contactless Growth" [ link to article ]
• International Herald Tribune , 12/23/04, "Biometric US passports to debut in spring" [ link to article ]
• Linux Insider , 12/18/04, "Passports Go Electronic with New Microchip" [ link to article ]
• Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal , 12/1/04, "Have You Used a Smart Card Lately" [ link to article ]
• SecureIDNews , 11/30/04, "Transportation ID (TWIC) continues its progress" [ link to article ] (subscription required)
• Security Products , 11/1/04, "The Future of the Smart Card" [ link to article ]
• TechNews World, 12/18/04, "Passports Go Electronic with New Microchip" [ link to article ]

Web Site News

NEW additions to the Smart Card Alliance web site

• New information on 4th Annual Smart Cards in eGovernment 2005 Conference and Exhibition
• Online registration for members, non-members and government employees
• Renaissance Hotel conference rate information - $239.00 per night
• 23 newly published smart card implementation profiles by industry
• The new positioning document, "RFID Tags and Contactless Smart Card Technology: Comparing and Contrasting Applications and Capabilities," and accompanying FAQ have been posted on the Alliance web site.
• Information about 4th Annual Smart Cards in eGovernment Conference and Exhibition has been added to the web site. [ link to info ]
• Presentations from the Smart Card Alliance 2004 Fall Annual Conference, "Evolution through Innovation," are now available from the members-only web site.

December 2004 web statistics

•  39,339 visitor sessions for the month
•  1,269 visitor sessions per day
•  84,557 total page views for the month
•  26,869 Industry News items viewed
•  2,705 Card Reader Catalog items displayed

If you have any suggestions on content that you'd like to see on the Alliance web site, please send them to info@smartcardalliance.org .

Copyright 2004-2005 · Smart Card Alliance · 191 Clarksville Rd. · Princeton Junction, NJ 08550
Phone: (800) 556-6828 info@smartcardalliance.org · www.smartcardalliance.org