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November 2006 • Volume 11 Number 11 |
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Executive Director's Letter Dear members and friends of the Alliance, I was reminded in the last few weeks why the wild antelope travel in herds, bees live in hives, and fish swim in schools. The power of numbers living in community with similar survival instincts and defensive tactics can be a powerful force to overcome when presented with outside forces who by their actions, either deliberately or for reasons involving their own survival, threaten that community. Recently our smart card industry was threatened in such a way and the response of the members within the community in rallying together to respond to the external threat was a rewarding experience. I am referring to a story that appeared in the New York Times on October 23rd about researchers at the University of Massachusetts who claimed to have “discovered” security risks with contactless payments cards issued in the United States using technology developed by MasterCard, Visa, and American Express. The discovery was nothing that the industry people most familiar with the technology didn’t already know and something the major payments brands had been aware of in designing the network and terminal specifications to handle contactless payments. Still, some television news/entertainment producers capitalized on the opportunity to play on consumers fears about identity theft and payment fraud and soon the story ran in over 80 markets around the country. Even before the story broke, the smart card “community” began to react in unison like nature often does. Our Contactless Payments Council, the card association spokespeople and the Alliance’s PR firm held near daily group calls to discuss the findings and plan the appropriate response. That response, I am proud to say, was the collective work of 37 different individuals from 21 participating organizations. The statement, which appears on the Smart Card Alliance web site along with an accompanying Q&A document, demonstrates the power of smart card community working hand in hand with the shared experience and payments industry knowledge to educate and inform the market. The message is clear, that contactless chip technology is safe and that industry best practices are in place and improving every day to ensure consumers will have confidence when carrying and paying with contactless devices. This experience should also serve as a lesson for our other industry verticals adopting chip technology that they must be sure that they are meeting the highest security standards and best practices because powerful forces are watching.
1. What are L-1 Identity Solutions’ main business profile and offerings? L-1 Identity Solutions was formed with the recently merger of Viisage and Identix. L-1 Identity Solutions was established based on the recognition and understanding that the security of a credential extends beyond the physical document and encompasses the entire identity life cycle. L-1 is comprised of business segments that include secure credentialing, biometrics and customer-focused services. Our depth of experience is in delivering secure credentialing solutions for State and local agencies as well as Federal customers. This, combined with our automated document authentication platform and automated testing solutions, round out the L-1 offerings. Other divisions within L-1 Identity Solutions are: Identix; SecuriMetrics; IBT; Iridian; and Spectal. Together we now offer the combined strength of secure credentialing solutions and a full line of biometrics technologies and products. Under the L-1 banner, we are now the largest and only company that offers end-to-end identity solutions as its core competency. For more information, visit htpp://www.L1ID.com.
Migrating Physical Access Control Systems to FIPS 201 Compatibility With the planned issuance of millions of PIV cards to government employees and contractors in the near future, agencies now need to consider the changes needed to existing physical access control systems to achieve compatibility with the PIV card. This article, extracted from the Smart Card Alliance Physical Access Council white paper, "Considerations for the Migration of Existing Physical Access Control Systems to Achieve FIPS 201 Compatibility," provides guidance for how agencies can migrate and upgrade their current PACS to align them with the requirements of HSPD-12 and FIPS 201 end state compatibility.
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This month, Smart Card Talk spoke with Jim Ebzery, President of Viisage, the Secure Credentialing Division of L-1 Identity Solutions. Mr. Ebzery brings more than 20 years of senior management experience to his position, most recently serving as Senior Vice President of Customer Solutions for Viisage. Prior to Viisage, he was Vice President of Operations for Internet Capital Group (ICG), where he provided operational leadership, focused on delivering top-line growth, to a diverse portfolio of venture backed companies. Prior to ICG, Mr. Ebzery held senior sales and marketing positions at IBM Corporation over a 17-year span, finishing his IBM tenure as the Worldwide Solutions Executive for the IBM Supply Chain Software Business.magazine in 2005.
Executive
Director's Letter
