Pentagon gets 'smart'

[mea culpa <jericho () DIMENSIONAL COM>]

From: Robert Hettinga <rah () shipwright com>
From: "Dan S" <ds1999 () crosswinds net>

http://cnn.com/TECH/computing/9909/21/pentagon.smart.card.idg/index.html

Pentagon gets 'smart'
September 21, 1999
by Ellen Messmer

(IDG) -- The U.S. military says it will phase out plastic identification
cards in favor of a chip-based multi-application smart card that about
800,000 personnel will carry.

The Defense Department smart card will hold digital certificates that will
allow the holder to sign and encrypt documents or purchase orders, and
will be the means to access networks managed by the Army, Navy, Air Force
and Marines.

This smart card ID will also eventually be the key used to physically
enter restricted buildings.

Corporations are bound to follow the Defense Department's smart card lead,
particularly contractors that share access to government networks.
Civilian employees working for the military may soon begin using the smart
cards, too.

For three years, the U.S. military has conducted operational testing of
smart cards for network access, as well as for storing medical information
and for use as digital cash. Now the Pentagon, which sets technical
strategy for the armed forces, is aiming to achieve what is probably the
largest smart card rollout in history. The Defense Department considers
the rollout an important part of its commitment to fully adopt electronic
commerce.

Desktops will need a card reader into which users will insert their smart
cards, which will contain digital certificates and applications such as
Novell NetWare log-on scripts.

While the cards provide an extra measure of security and portability,
passwords will still be necessary to use the digital certificates. Those
certificates also let the user digitally "sign" or encrypt applications.

In addition, the Pentagon wants this smart card to be so intelligent that
it can let its holder into a restricted building. The General Services
Administration has been given the task of defining a government standard
for the card.

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