Princeton Junction, N.J., September 26, 2011–More than 75 government leaders and program managers are slated to talk about security and identity initiatives at the 10th Annual Smart Card Alliance Government Conference, the Alliance said today. The event will be held November 2–4, 2011 at the Ronald Reagan International Trade Center in Washington, DC, with pre-conference workshops on November 1st.

Conference presentations will discuss opportunities and challenges for government issuers, accreditation and testing authorities, procurement programs, and the industry to meet the government’s market demands. Details on the agenda, pricing, sponsors and exhibitors, and registration can be found on the Smart Card Alliance Web site.

“Fully trusted identities–whether government identities, online identities, healthcare identities, or personal identities–are the end goal as the U.S. government creates initiatives to keep access to online electronic data authenticated and secure,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. “Our government conference is the only event offering a comprehensive update from the experts that lead these initiatives.”

The conference’s comprehensive coverage of efforts toward using strong authentication technology in government identity programs will include these topics and more:

• Federal and non-federal Personal Identity Verification (PIV) credentials
• Trusted identity on the Internet and on mobile devices
• The National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC)
• Healthcare identity and access management initiatives
• State and local identity initiatives, and evolving global standards
• U.S. and international government use-cases presented by the implementers and administrators of these government e-ID programs

Expanded coverage of NSTIC for 2011 will kick off at 9:15 a.m. on Wednesday, November 2nd with a special keynote presentation from Jeremy Grant, NSTIC lead and the senior executive advisor for identity management at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) followed by an executive roundtable discussion panel on future the NSTIC initiative. Attendees can also look forward to technology and policy track panels, and a birds of a feather session on the topic.

The Smart Card Alliance will offer pre-conference workshops on November 1st including “Implementing PIV-enabled Physical Access Control Systems: Practical Guidance” and “Kantara Initiative Workshop: Kantara Initiative Identity Summit.”

The Certified Smart Card Industry Professional (CSCIP) Certification exam, as well the government-oriented CSCIP/G exam, will be administered at the conference on November 4th at 1:15 p.m. The Alliance is also offering a full-day CSCIP and CSCIP/G Training and Exam Preparation Course on Tuesday, November 1st as a full-day pre-conference workshop. Information on CSCIP requirements, training modules, exam registration and fees can be found on the Smart Card Alliance LEAP website.

The conference is open to all individuals and organizations that wish to learn about the role of smart cards in government. Smart Card Alliance member organizations and government employees receive complimentary or discounted pricing for single day or full conference registrations. Early registration discounts are available through October 11th. Industry sponsors for the conference include Gemalto, Entrust, Deloitte, HP, Identive Group, Oberthur Technologies, SafeNet, NXP Semiconductors, Exponent and Xtec.

About the Smart Card Alliance

The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application 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. and Latin America. For more information please visit http://www.securetechalliance.org.