High-Tech IDs Planned for Gov't Workers

[lostnfound]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=513&ncid=691&e=1&u=/ap/20050414/ap_on_go_ot/federal_ids

GAITHERSBURG, Md. - As part of the Bush administration's effort to tighten security at federal facilities, millions of federal employees and contractors will later this year start receiving ID badges with chips storing information such as digital fingerprints.

The "smart card" IDs will have security features designed to keep outsiders from breaking into federal buildings or computer systems.

But some computer security experts say the new standard was rushed through a six-month-long development process after President Bush issued a smart card directive last year.

For instance, a biometric standard more stringent that fingerprints, such as scans of a user's iris, was not used, said Susan Landau, a staff engineer for Sun Microsystems and a member of a National Institute of Standards and Technology advisory panel that reviewed the standard.

[purduejake]

1. It's about time they started using this.

I see these ID cards in many businesses and have no problem with them. We could always use more security in the government. Although I am sure there could have been better systems, this is a step in the right direction. I do share concerns with people that the info gathered from these cards may be used improperly, but everybody I know who works with similar systems has no problems.