Interoperable personal ID cards for government workers | 05.25.2006 | 08:49:31 | Views: 4857 | ID: May 25 '06: A government-wide card identification system which will allow all agencies to use the technology is being put into place according to Government Computer News. Personal Identification Verification (PIV) Cards "contain integrated circuit chips, as well as biometric and cryptographic data and will be interoperable between agencies." A Department of Commerce report released in March said that the federal standard will contain two sections, the first being that technical specifications will meet a presidential directive, and the second, that the technology will be interoperable. In the presidential directive, the goal of the PIV cards will be to "enhance security, increase Government efficiency, reduce identity fraud, and protect personal privacy by establishing a mandatory, Government-wide standard for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the Federal Government to its employees and contractors (including contractor employees)." The Commerce Department's report on the PIV cards' uses include "Special-Risk Security Provision" situations that would help to increase the level of security for government employees working in dangerous areas of the world and in information-sensitive environments. "As protective security technology advances, this need for this provision will be re-assessed as the standard undergoes the normal review and update process." GCN reported that the National Institute of Standards "said the draft report is intended 'to define and validate a suite of performance, interoperability and security requirements' for PIV cards and readers, and is intended to 'augment existing standards to enable agencies to achieve the interoperability goal'" of the presidential directive.
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