Smart Card Alliance Focus Is on IT Security at RSA 2008

Market Wire, April, 2008

Drawing on the credentials and experience of its membership, the Smart Card Alliance will educate and demonstrate to RSA attendees innovative technology and practical takeaways on the use of digital identity credentials in the enterprise IT environment. Now in its 4th year, The Smart Card Alliance will host a three-part tutorial today, "Smart Cards and Information Technology," and the popular Smart Card Pavilion at booth #1350.

"Smart cards have become an essential component of a comprehensive identity management strategy for IT organizations of all types and scale," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "The Smart Card Pavilion features demonstrations of the best solutions for physical and network security, while the Smart Cards and Information Technology Tutorial covers everything from the fundamentals of IT security, to the issuance, management, and usage of smart cards in IT, to the exploration of real-world use cases."

This is the Alliance's fourth year hosting the Smart Card Pavilion, a special attraction at RSA, this week April 7th - 11th at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. Attendees can experience demonstrations of smart card-enabled products and services for the information technology and security industry from several outstanding companies at booth 1350.

In part one of today's tutorial (TUT-M31, 9:00 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.), industry experts from the Alliance's Educational Institute will present: a market overview of smart cards in secure identification and authentication implementations in government and commercial projects worldwide; an explanation of the practical usage of digital credentials stored on smart cards, and how they are issued, managed and revoked; and trends in use of interoperable smart card credentials in both government and commercial organizations.

Part two of the tutorial (TUT-M32, 11:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.) explores the independence and interrelationship among the concepts of identity, privilege and person in relation to privacy, consent, and authentication, and how smart card technologies are utilized to implement these concepts. This session includes an overview of the latest technology innovations in smart cards for IT, and how advances in application and content management capabilities create flexibility for smart card applications in IT environments.

The final part (TUT-M33, 1:45 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.) looks at several large-scale smart card deployments. The session will explore the Registered Traveler program and Pfizer's Integrated Badge Program, and highlight, from two very different perspectives, how smart cards are used in today's business environments.

More information about the Smart Card Alliance and RSA Conference 2008 can be found at www.smartcardalliance.org , and http://www.rsaconference.com/2008/US/home.aspx .

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 .

Contact: Deb Montner Montner & Associates 203-226-9290 dmontner@montner.com