Feds Approve New Smart Card Standards
U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez issued new standards Friday for government-issued smart cards specifying the technical and operational requirements to meet President Bush's mandate for standard federal ID credentials.
Source: Internet NewsThe standards call for all federal agencies and their contractors to be issued a credit card sized ID that contains a PIN number, digital photograph and two digitally stored fingerprints.
Gutierrez also announced all federal agencies have until October to meet the first part of the Personal Identity Verification (PIV) standard, which sets the minimum requirements needed to meet the presidential directive.
"This new standard will enable federal agencies to issue more secure and reliable forms of identification to better protect federal assets against threats such as terrorist attacks. It also will help safeguard against other risks such as identity theft," Gutierrez said in a statement.
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