GSA joins smart card group
- By Dan Caterinicchia, Dan Caterinicchia
- May 05, 2000
The General Services Administration has joined GlobalPlatform, an organization
that promotes the implementation of multiple-application smart card services
by advancing international standards.
The GSA last year issued multiple-application smart cards to most of
its Washington, D.C. area-based employees, said Bill Holcombe, director
of electronic business technologies at GSA.
"The U.S. government has already discovered the many benefits of multiple-application
smart card programs, which allow for increased efficiency and cost savings
at many levels," Holcombe said in a release. "The activities of GlobalPlatform
nicely align with our objectives to leverage commercially available technology
and support standardization between public and private sector interests."
The Navy and the Defense Department also are developing smart card programs
that will use public-key infrastructure on military identification cards
to ensure secure access to computer networks.
GlobalPlatform was formed last year by organizations interested in issuing
multiple-application smart cards to their customers. The group's goal is
to define specifications and infrastructure for multi-application smart
cards, according to its World Wide Web site, www.globalplatform.org.
The GSA is the third government-affiliated organization to become a
member of GlobalPlatform, joining Japanese and South Korean entities.