Princeton Junction, NJ, February 25, 2004–Department of Homeland Security CIO Steve Cooper will present the opening keynote address at the Smart Card Alliance’s 3rd Annual Smart Cards in Government Conference Tuesday, March 9th at the Hilton Crystal City Hotel in Arlington, VA.

Mr. Cooper will speak about government-wide federal identification credential initiatives. He’ll address topics such as: key decision points made along the way; the significance of the new Federal Identity Credentialing Committee (FICC) policy guidelines; how government initiatives are shaping the future roadmap for identity credentials; and how to enhance public-private partnerships to ensure programs are successful.

Mr. Cooper was appointed by President Bush to be the first CIO of the DHS in February, 2003. He and his team have responsibility for the information technology assets supporting 190,000 federal employees of the 22 agencies now comprising the new department.

His address is one of many highlights during two full days of conference sessions on government credentialing, security and e-authentication projects. Immediately preceding Mr. Cooper’s address the Federal Smart Card Project Managers Group will hold their bi-monthly meeting. For details and a full agenda visit http://www.securetechalliance.org.

Exhibiting organizations at the event include: Axalto, Gemplus, Datacard Group, SCM Microsystems, Maximus, IBM, OTI America, General Services Administration, First Data Corporation, VeriSign, Atmel, Datakey, ActivCard, SAFLINK, SuperCom and Thomson Media.

The Alliance is also hosting the Electronic Authentication Partnership (EAP) meeting on Tuesday, March 9th. The EAP is being formed to enable the interoperability of public and private online authentication systems. It is comprised of stakeholder groups, including federal agencies, state governments, private-sector companies and organizations, and public interest groups. Karen Evans, administrator of the Office of Electronic Government and IT in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget announced the EAP on December 9, 2003. It conducted is first organizational meeting on February 12, 2004, in Washington, DC.

About the Smart Card Alliance

The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to accelerate the acceptance 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. For more information please visit http://www.securetechalliance.org.