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Homeland Security Presidential Directive(HSPD)12.

Feds dread ID deadline
Topic Homeland Security

Dec. 16, 2004
Federal agency officials say they will be hard pressed to meet deadlines for issuing interoperable identification cards to comply with Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12.
Speaking today in Bethesda, Md., at a breakfast meeting sponsored by AFCEA International, officials at the National Institute of Standards and Technology said they face substantial requests for revisions to the draft standard they issued Nov. 8 as a first step in complying with the presidential order.

HSPD 12 calls for all federal employees and contractors to use a standard smart card to verify their identity for secure access to federal buildings and information systems. The directive set October 2005 as the deadline for complying with the order.

The draft standard, known as Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201, has elicited many requests for revisions by agency officials and contractors who say its interoperability specifications may be too costly for some federal agencies and vendors to meet by the deadlines set in the directive.

To ease the burden on agency officials and contractors, NIST officials have worked out an agreement with Office and Management and Budget Officials to make October 2005 the deadline for agencies to partially meet the standard by aligning their identity proofing processes with those in the new standard. Agency officials must submit their plans to OMB by June 27, Judith Spencer, chairwoman of the General Services Administration's Federal Identity Credentialing Committee, said at the meeting.

Agency officials will have some additional time to procure and issue interoperable smart cards to their employees and selected contractors. OMB officials plan to issue further implementation guidelines immediately after the Commerce Secretary signs the FIPS 201 document, officials said. The directive requires that the document be signed by Feb. 23, 2005.

Defense Department officials, who have issued more than 6 million personal identity verification cards to DOD employees and contractors, have the most to lose from new specifications that veer too far from those they adopted for their Common Access Card.

DOD officials also are well-acquainted with the problems that arise in issuing smart cards that are legibly printed and that employees will use, said Mike Butler, director of DOD's Access Card Office . He said DOD officials are seeking a new source of printers to correct printer problems that have caused about 10 percent of CAC cards to be unusable at the time they were issued.

Agency officials involved in smart card projects also reported unexpected problems in working with building security officers on issuing personal identity cards that can be used both for access to federal buildings and to federal computer systems.

"We're learning about physical security things we didn't know about," Spencer said.
http://www.all-hands.net/pn/news_index1536.html

WidePoint's "ORC" Subsidiary Announces Strategic Partnership Agreement with SETECS

Partnership Provides Ability to Deliver “First Smart Card Issuing Workstation” for the Federal Government Consistent with Presidential Directive.

Washington, D.C. – November 30, 2004 –WidePoint Corporation’s ( OTC BB: WDPT) wholly-owned subsidiary Operational Research Consultants, Inc. (“ORC”) today announced a strategic partnership agreement with SETECS, Inc., a noted specialist in end-to-end internet security software products.

This partnership agreement combines ORC’s ACES and DoD ECA Certificate Authorities with SETECS OneMANä solution to create the first common “Smart Card Issuing Workstation” integrated with Federal Compliant Public Key Infrastructures (“PKIs”). The Workstation, which provides backward compatibility with existing CAC smart cards which protects the investment of over 4 million CAC smart cards already issued, utilizes existing Government approved PKI digital certificates, creates smart cards compatible with Microsoft Windowsä security protocols, supports multiple smart card manufacturers, is available on ORC’s GSA Contracts.

Dan Turissini, ORC’s Chief Executive Officer commented, "ORC is thrilled to add SETECS to its Common IA Enabling Infrastructure (CIEI)ã offering. Together, we have an exceptional opportunity to take advantage of our leveraged technologies and Government relationships to exclusively deliver these best-in-class solutions, soon to be required for virtually all Federal agencies, government employees and in-house government contractors in response to Homeland Security Presidential Directive HSPD-12.”

Sead Muftic, President and Chief Executive Officer of SETECS said, “This agreement represents an important step forward for both Companies’ customers and shareholders. The combined offering may be installed locally or extended to a mobile smart card issuing workstation. It provides ORC and SETECS with a powerful competitive edge in the market. Not only are DOD CAC smart card owners beneficiaries, but other GSA and Contractor communities will also benefit from this GSC-compliant solution.”

Mark Fuller, Chief Executive Officer of WidePoint’s Government Division, stated, "This partnership helps to accelerate the WidePoint business plan by joining two leading technology solutions providers and solidifying ORC’s leadership role in the areas of Information Assurance and Security.”

ORC is the only vendor certified by the Department of Defense to issue all 6 types of certificates with a validity of UP TO 3 YEARS. ORC is focused on medium to high assurance levels and has the expertise and the full service attention you need to securely interface with the DoD.

"ORC is pleased to be joining forces with Wave Systems in making available trusted computing solutions embedded with ECA digital certificate capabilities to all branches of government, and beyond," stated Daniel E. Turissini, president and CEO of ORC. "This combination of Wave's EMBASSY(R) Trust Suite technology integrated with our Trusted Third Party services provides another element to furthering the availability of the highest levels of Information Assurance technologies in the ongoing efforts to protect personal information and in support of Homeland Defense endeavors."