PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., Jan. 17, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Providing guidance and leading practices for mobile identity credentialing and the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) will be the focus for 2013, the Smart Card Alliance Identity Council announced today. Wrapping up a successful 2012, the Identity Council also announced its new officers and steering committee that will lead council projects in 2013-2014.
"As government and enterprises look at new approaches to identity - such as with the secure online identities and mobile credentialing - the Identity Council plays the important role of providing guidance on how to choose the applicable technology to ensure identities are trusted, private and secure," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance.
In 2012, the Identity Council provided support and educational materials for the secure online identity initiative NSTIC, and will continue this work into 2013 and beyond. The Council also addressed government agencies and enterprises that are increasingly interested in using mobile devices for identity purposes, presenting the vision of the secure use of mobile devices for identity applications and describing different use cases for current and NFC-enabled mobile devices in the white paper, Mobile Devices and Identity Applications, and holding an on-site workshop at the 2012 Government Conference. This focus will continue into 2013 with additional projects to provide guidance on supporting identity credentials and applications in mobile devices.
The Identity Council also tackled PIV and PIV-Interoperable (PIV-I) credentials with the PIV-Interoperable Credential Case Studieswhite paper, documenting the benefits of using PIV-interoperable credentials for enterprises and providing implementation case studies of enterprises that are issuing or planning to issue PIV-I credentials. The Council collaborated with the Access Control Council to produce PIV Card/Reader Challenges with Physical Access Control Systems: A Field Troubleshooting Guide, which documented guidance to help users diagnose the cause of card/reader issues with physical access control systems and providing troubleshooting guidance to efficiently identify corrective actions.
New Council Leadership
The Identity Council elected new leadership and steering committee for 2013-2014. Newly-elected officers are:
-- Chair: Bryan Ichikawa, Deloitte & Touche LLP
-- Vice Chair: Neville Pattinson, Gemalto
-- Secretary: Salvatore D'Agostino, IDmachines
In addition to the officers, the newly-elected Steering Committee includes:
-- Frazier Evans, Booz Allen Hamilton
-- Chris Gardner, SecureKey Technologies
-- Don Malloy, NagraID Security
-- Steve Rogers, IQ Devices
-- Chris Williams, SAIC
"The Smart Card Alliance is represented by the world's foremost practitioners in the Identity industry," said Bryan Ichikawa, senior manager, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Federal Enterprise Security Practice and Council chair. "I am honored to be elected into this leadership position and look forward to supporting critical initiatives across many industries. The Identity Council will also collaborate with other Smart Card Alliance Councils and continue to provide tremendous value through joint projects in this upcoming year."
To learn more about the Smart Card Alliance Identity Council and the resources available, visit http://www.smartcardalliance.org/pages/activities-councils-identity.
About the Identity Council
The Smart Card Alliance Identity Council is focused on promoting leading policies and practices concerning person and machine identity, including strong authentication and the appropriate authorization across different use cases. Through its activities the Council encourages the use of digital identities that provide strong authentication across assurance environments through smart credentials - e.g., smart ID cards, mobile devices, enhanced driver's licenses, and other tokens. The Council addresses the challenges of securing identity and develops guidance for organizations so that they can realize the benefits that secure identity delivers. The Council engages a broad set of participants and takes an industry perspective, bringing careful thought, joint planning, and multiple organization resources to bear on addressing the challenges of securing identity information for proper use.
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.