PRINCETON JUNCTION, NJ -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 05/15/07 -- The Smart Card Alliance Identity Council successfully provided education on and increased awareness of identity issues and technologies in its first year, focusing particularly on new government initiatives like REAL ID and the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI). The Council today announced its accomplishments for the last year, plans for the upcoming year and newly elected officers and steering committee members, including chair Neville Pattinson, vice president of government affairs and standards for Gemalto North America.

"I am proud to be elected chair of a council that addresses the need for trusted and secure identities, a topic critical for citizens, governments and enterprises today," said Pattinson. "I look forward to working with the Smart Card Alliance and participating organizations to educate and campaign for solutions that enhance privacy and the security of identity information."

In 2006, 74 individuals from 44 Smart Card Alliance member organizations participated in the Identity Council. The Council created a number of educational resources promoting the need for better use of technologies and policies regarding human identity information, all found at http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-councils-identity.

The Council's first white paper, "The Top 10 Hot Identity Topics," discusses challenges associated with current identity systems and offers perspectives on how these critical issues can be addressed through policy, identity proofing processes and technology solutions. The Council also created the "Identity, Smart Card Technology and Application Glossary," a comprehensive A to Z guide to identity.

The Identity Council provided education on the use of smart card technology for major government initiatives such as WHTI passport cards, and REAL ID driver's licenses and identification cards with the position paper, "The REAL ID Act: Why Real ID Cards Should Be Based on Smart Card Technology."

Another imperative for the Identity Council is to educate stakeholders on the use of radio frequency (RF) technologies for identity applications. Council-created resources on the topic include the papers, "RF-Enabled Applications and Technology: Comparing and Contrasting RFID and RF-Enabled Smart Cards," "Best Practices for the Use of RF-Enabled Technology in Identity Management Applications," and "EPC Gen 2 RFID Tags vs. Contactless Smart Cards: Frequently Asked Questions."

"In this information age, many organizations use technology to increase efficiency and lower costs; however, the privacy and security of identity information must always be the top priority, especially in government applications that affect citizens," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "The Identity Council materials provide educational resources on how all of these benefits can be achieved with the proper choice of technology."

In the coming year, the Identity Council's priorities will include: maintaining public policy and education focus on federal and state use of identity technology; providing focus for discussions on RFID vs. RF-enabled smart card technology; exploring and demonstrating the linkage of smart cards and biometrics in identity applications; and expanding the Council focus to enterprise identity applications.

The Council elected new officers and steering committee representatives in April. New officers are:

--  Chair: Neville Pattinson, Gemalto
--  Vice Chair: Steve Howard, Thales e-Security
--  Secretary: Tres Wiley, Texas Instruments
    

Newly elected steering committee members joining the officers are:

--  Linda Brown, Infineon Technologies
--  Kathleen Carroll, HID Global Corporation
--  John McKeon, IBM
--  Gilles Lisimaque, ID Technology Partners
--  Steve Rogers, Integrated Engineering
--  Martin Dugan, L-1 Identity Solutions
--  John Santisteban, Fargo Electronics
--  William Boggess, Department of Defense/Defense Manpower Data Center
--  Mike Neumann, StepNexus
    

The Identity Council is open to participation from any organization that joins the Alliance and the Council. For more information, please visit www.smartcardalliance.org.

About the Smart Card Alliance

The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology.

Through specific projects such as education programs, market research, advocacy, industry relations and open forums, the Alliance keeps its members connected to industry leaders and innovative thought. The Alliance is the single industry voice for smart cards, leading industry discussion on the impact and value of smart cards in the U.S. and Latin America. For more information, please visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org.

Contact:
Deb Montner
Montner & Associates
203-226-9290
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