A Small Agency With A Big Vision

摘要

There seems to be little special about their ID badges as employees file into the U.S. Department of Interior offices in Washington, D.C. They flash their ID cards at a security guard, then proceed to the elevators. The first sign that the badge is unusual comes when, an employee taps it against a contactless smart card reader in the elevator to gain access to his floor in the office building. Over the course of the day, that worker will use the card to enter secure areas, log on to his computer and digitally sign e-mails, and to automatically fill in personal data on electronic forms. The computer network authentication and digital signature functions were pioneered by the U.S. Department of Defense, which has issued 5.8 million smart card IDs, called Common Access Cards, over the past four years, with 3.1 million of those still in use. Interior has taken the Common Access Card and added new features, serving as a testbed for other agencies, including Defense.