From today's Informationweek:
"Not only are smart cards capable of providing secure access to networks, but they can also be used in a wide variety of industries such as financial services and health care. Visa, for example, has issued to employees at the U. S. General
Services Administration smart cards from Gemplus that are being used in a pilot for a variety of functions, including serving as the keys in the GSA's PKI, ticket purchasing through American Airlines and credit card payments, said
Patrick Gauthier, a vice president at Visa. As part of this effort, Visa is also testing biometrics technology, an alternative to smart cards that reads users' fingerprints.
. . .
"'Most companies are at the pilot stage, trying to learn the technology,' said Scott Smith, director of product marketing at Gemplus. "They are focusing on PKI, (and) the ultimate direction is to replace existing passwords." While Gemplus has the second largest installed base behind Schlumbeger, according to Card Technology Magazine, some mainstream computer suppliers are paying close attention to smart cards.
"For example, IBM plans to offer smart card readers for its entire desktop computer line over time, officials said at a recent briefing at its research labs in Hawthorne, N.Y. IBM recently began offering a PC Card-based reader for its Thinkpad portable computers.
. . .
"Microsoft is also setting its sights in that direction, Smith added. Windows 2000, for example, will incorporate PKI and digital certificate technology, a move that will make deploying smart cards more practical.
. . .
"Smart cards' ability to perform encryption functions in a PKI environment and embed digital signatures without exposing private keys make them well-suited for business-to-business e-commerce, analysts said.
"The biggest barrier to deployment has been the inability to put smart card readers on every users PC, said Hurwitz Group analyst Diana Kelly. That may change though with initiatives like the new American Express Blue Card, a smart card for consumer purchases. American Express is giving users readers for their PCs and merchants readers for point-of-sale systems. 'That's what it's going to take for widespread deployment of smart cards,' Kelly said."
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A couple of points: Biometrics, contrary to the statement in the first paragraph, is not an "alternative" to smart cards, but a complement. Second, is it possible that the PC market is awaiting a total smart card/biometrics solution before deploying? In other words, will IBM be buying biometrics from IDX at the same time they are working toward a smart card environment that could use the biometrics in a finished system? Finally, the American Express 'buy them readers' approach is the one I believe Mastercard is looking at regarding biometric smart cards, in a year or two. |
