Federal bodies approving contractors’ wares, with little time to spare By Marisa Torrieri, Contributing Editor Where FIPS 201-compliant smart cards are concerned, summer’s hot and anything but lazy. The U.S. government is taking action on several fronts to help federal agencies get Personal Identity Verification (PIV) card systems in place. From giving the thumbs up […]

LEGIC provides robust suite of payment and security applications for students in Chur, Switzerland By Andy Williams, Contributing Editor While many U.S. colleges and universities have been hesitant to delve into the contactless world, European and Asian campuses have taken the opposite approach. So it is with the University of Technology and Economics (HTW Chur) […]

RSA Security has announced an end-to-end interoperability solution, showcased at a recent NIST PIV demonstration, that includes new middleware technologies and extensions to the company’s digital certificate management solution, all designed to help federal agencies comply with HSPD-12. Read the full article at SecureIDNews.com

The July 18 monthly meeting of the influential Interagency Advisory Board (IAB) was held in Washington D.C. SecureIDNews was on hand to cover the event and has provided, with permission from the IAB, an audio recording of the event. To listen to the sessions, click on the link below to access a list of audio […]

NIST outlines requirements for today and tomorrow By Marisa Torrieri, Contributing Editor Cryptography requirements will create new challenges for federal agencies and vendors working on FIPS 201-compliant personal identity cards. Whether you’re starting out today, or looking toward future implementation, the National Institutes of Standards and Technology (NIST) staff member Donna Dodson emphasizes that stakeholders […]

General Dynamics IT can provide FIPS 201 solutions to federal agencies, following the company’s addition to the OMB approved list. According to the company announcement, “General Dynamics Information Technology has implemented dedicated PIV credentialing, enrollment and card issuing systems in mobile as well as fixed environments to meet the needs of the federal government.” Read […]

SP 800-76 gives agencies some flexibility, but requirements still daunting to many By Marisa Torrieri, Contributing Editor It wasn’t too long ago that biometrics seemed like an expensive proposition that would only work in sci-fi movie plots. But today, the technology that measures human physical and behavioral characteristics for authentication has come a long way. […]

Security giant Diebold announced the purchase of the privately held Virginia-based company Actcom. Actcom has solid experience in government security markets and has worked actively with HSPD-12 and FIPS 201 related solutions. It is this involvement, according to Diebold, that led to the acquisition. Diebold’s VP of government monitoring solutions, V. John Stroia, said “(Actcom’s) […]

The Government Printing Office (USGPO) is likely getting into the FIPS 201 card issuance business, and they will rely on a private sector awardee to manage the operations. The GPO is soliciting feedback on its plan to establish a “Government-Located, Contractor-Owned and Operated, e-IDentification operations center.” This would, in essence, serve as an outsourced card […]

Two more ActivIdentity smart card solutions have achieved FIPS 140-2 Level 2 certification, while its ActivClient PIV has received a FIPS 201 certificate from NIST, the company announced. Read the full article at SecureIDNews.com