PM Tech Daily June 14, 2002

[Lillie Coney <lillie.coney@xxxxxxx>]

Panelists: Biometrics, 'Smart Cards' A 'Perfect Combination'
by Liza Porteus

Already being used in government agencies around the world, biometrics and 
"smart cards" can play a huge role in airline security, technology and 
security experts said Friday.
"Smart cards and biometrics, I think, is the perfect combination," Philippe 
Tartavull, CEO of Oberthur Card Systems, told those attending the 
EyeforTravel airline digital-security conference.
The technologies are ideal, Tartavull said, because they require no 
centralized database to store a person's identification information. 
Instead, the information is stored on the cards. The banking industry, 
Defense Department and some wireless carriers already use such cards.
Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, lawmakers, industry and airlines have 
been seeking a viable technological solution to ensuring that the 
identities of citizens, particularly air passengers, can be verified. 
Tartavull said Virgin Atlantic and British Airways are testing 
iris-recognition technologies. The British and German governments are 
considering using biometrics on passports. And the United States recently 
enacted laws on border and aviation security that require the use of new 
technologies to verify identities.
Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, is using 
hand-identification technology developed by EDS to verify air passengers' 
identities. The airport also offers a type of "trusted traveler" program, 
where travelers' information is entered into a system so they can bypass 
lengthy security checks at the airport. Israel Ben Hayim, former director 
of the airport, said that in about two years, he expects about 60 percent 
to 75 percent of all Israeli travelers to be enrolled.
Standardizing U.S. driver's licenses also will also go far toward improving 
airport security, some experts said. The American Association of Motor 
Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) has been working with states to craft a 
standard.
"The problem today is [that] some states are on the cutting edge. ... 
Everybody is using a different kind of biometrics. ... We can't 
communicate; we can't exchange information," AAMVA CEO Linda Lewis said.
Lewis stressed that AAMVA is not advocating a national ID card but rather a 
document that would return "integrity" to state driver's licenses. AAMVA is 
working with state groups toward a system that would enable state 
motor-vehicle databases to exchange information immediately as a way to 
verify the identities of people applying for licenses.
Shane Ham, a senior policy analyst for the Progressive Policy Institute, 
said the only people who appear to be skeptical of fraudulent licenses are 
"the bartenders at campus-area bars." Ham also said the groups lobbying 
against a standardized licenses represent an "oddball political coalition" 
of privacy and civil-rights groups, gun-control organizations, the 
immigration lobby and others.
"They have a calculated strategy" of equating standardized licenses with 
national ID cards, Ham said. He added that the immigration groups in 
particular "have the ear of the White House," specifically political 
strategist Karl Rove. These groups have "tremendous political sway" and can 
"bring unbelievable political problems," he said.

Cyber Security
Moran Rips Tech Industry For Silence On Cyber Security
by William New

     Rep. James Moran on Friday criticized the high-tech industry for 
failing to aggressively lobby members of Congress on two cyber-security 
proposals.
     "[The tech industry] has been silent," the Virginia Democrat said. 
"Congress is a reactive body. If there is no pressure, we're not going to 
move."
     One proposal would exempt from the Freedom of Information Act the 
information on cyber security that businesses share with the government. It 
also would allow companies to sidestep antitrust laws when sharing security 
information among themselves.
     Moran and fellow Virginian Tom Davis, a Republican, introduced the 
House bill, H.R. 2435, on that topic, and Republican Sens. Robert Bennett 
of Utah and Jon Kyl of Arizona filed a similar Senate measure, S. 1456.
     Supporters of the legislation cannot get enough cosponsors without 
more pressure, Moran said. "It's just languishing."
     "The tech industry has just gotten to be apathetic about it, which is 
stupid on their part," Moran said. "We've got a lot of resources to help 
them."
     A tech industry lobbyist took issue with that criticism. "I'm 
surprised by the comment because we're working very hard as part of a 
coalition and independently to get the information-sharing legislation 
passed," said Joe Tasker, senior vice president for government relations at 
the Information Technology Association of America. "We're up on the Hill 
three or four times a week," working with staff. The coalition also is 
working with the administration as well, he said.
     Several different versions of the proposal, including a blend of the 
House and Senate bills, are being floated. Tasker said an agreement now 
could lead to amendments in committee that would bypass a difficult 
negotiation between the two chambers after floor passage.
     The legislation has attracted significant opposition from 
environmental groups, which fear that it would undermine environmental 
enforcement by allowing companies not to reveal information about activities.
     "This is much more controversial than it should be," Tasker said. 
"We're having to jump over a lot more hurdles than we expected."
     The other bill, introduced in May by Moran and Davis, would allow 
states to store biometric information such as fingerprints on drivers' 
licenses. Unique biometric features would be stored in computer chips on 
the licenses. The measure, H.R. 4633, seeks to stop people from 
fraudulently using state-issued identification. It has bipartisan support, 
Moran said.
     Moran said both bills likely would get sufficient bipartisan support 
if lawmakers were made more aware of them. He said the only resistance has 
come from the Justice Department, which does not "see the need" for an 
antitrust exception on information sharing.
     Asked why the tech industry is silent, Moran said, "Too many 
high-tech executives are more concerned about keeping their taxes [low] 
than about improving their profits."

On The Hill: Lawmakers dropped only three more technology-related bills in 
the hopper this week -- all of them in the Senate and all focused on 
education or workplace issues. One measure, S. 2603, would reserve money 
from the spectrum auctions and license fees for technology investments 
aimed at furthering education and training. Fifty percent of the spectrum 
money would be deposited into the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust 
through fiscal 2020. Another bill, S. 2606, would expand the Trade 
Adjustment Assistance program to truckers who are displaced from their jobs 
by trade deals. Similar language was removed from a broader trade measure, 
H.R. 3009, before the Senate passed that bill. And the final new piece of 
legislation, S. 2611, would reauthorize federal programs at the nation's 
museums and libraries. The measure would authorize four grant programs to 
help libraries improve access to technology and museum programs that 
provide new technologies for exhibits.

On The Hill: Lawmakers dropped only three more technology-related bills in 
the hopper this week -- all of them in the Senate and all focused on 
education or workplace issues. One measure, S. 2603, would reserve money 
from the spectrum auctions and license fees for technology investments 
aimed at furthering education and training. Fifty percent of the spectrum 
money would be deposited into the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust 
through fiscal 2020. Another bill, S. 2606, would expand the Trade 
Adjustment Assistance program to truckers who are displaced from their jobs 
by trade deals. Similar language was removed from a broader trade measure, 
H.R. 3009, before the Senate passed that bill. And the final new piece of 
legislation, S. 2611, would reauthorize federal programs at the nation's 
museums and libraries. The measure would authorize four grant programs to 
help libraries improve access to technology and museum programs that 
provide new technologies for exhibits.


Lillie Coney
Public Policy Coordinator
U.S. Association for Computing Machinery
Suite 510
2120 L Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20037
202-478-6124
lillie.coney@xxxxxxx