Fergie's Tech Blog

NIST Botches Smart Card Evaluation, Group Charges

Alice Lipowicz writes on GCN.com:

The National Institute of Standards and Technology hasn’t sufficiently evaluated a set of technologies about to be used in border-crossing identification cards, charges a smart card industry group.

The group, the Smart Card Alliance, believes that NIST certified the Generation 2 Radio Frequency Identification card architecture for the People Access Security Services (PASS) Card without using “the appropriate standards and best practices relevant to human identity applications,” wrote Smart Card Alliance Executive Director Randy Vanderhoof in a May 17 letter to NIST Director William Jeffrey. The alliance is a trade association representing companies that make identification cards and related systems.

Furthermore, the institute did not properly evaluate whether the Gen2 RFID technology choice is appropriate for the context in which it will be used in the Pass Card, Vanderhoof contended. “NIST has, for the first time, endorsed a technology without exploring its use in the context of the government mission and presenting the pros and cons of that technology offering for that mission,” Vanderhoof wrote.

posted by Fergie @ 5/24/2007 11:35:00 AM