Princeton Junction, NJ, September 8, 2004–The Smart Card Alliance today announced the program for its Fall Annual Conference being held October 18 -20, 2004 at the Hyatt Fisherman’s Wharf Hotel in San Francisco, California. Under the theme “Evolution Through Innovation,” the conference will focus on the many ways smart cards have evolved as a result of technology innovation.

The Fall Conference offers attendees the best opportunity to learn about the role of smart cards in the growing North American market and how they can use smart cards in the access, financial, retail, transit, pay TV and wireless markets in the United States. New to the conference this year will be a Next Generation Technology Fair, during which selected emerging companies will be invited to give a briefing on their technology and smart card solutions to the conference attendees and invited venture capital firms.

Highlights of the meeting will be the presentation of the three Outstanding Smart Card Achievement (OSCA) awards and a keynote address on cyberterrorism from Richard Clarke, former Special Advisor to the President on Terrorism and author of Against All Enemies: Inside America’s War on Terror. In his address Clarke will discuss new security realities for the United States in the changing, dangerous world we live in today, and share observations and insights from his privileged position as a top security advisor for four successive presidential administrations.

“We chose innovation as our theme because there have been dramatic changes in chip technology and standards adoption, as well as the introduction of new applications in the marketplace,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. “Innovation and recognition of technology advancements are an ideal formula for this year’s conference, given the location and the expanding adoption of smart cards in North America.”

The three-day agenda will feature expert speakers and panels including users, vendors and analysts who will discuss the industry triumphs and challenges and project the future of smart cards as a platform for innovation and business growth. For example the panel session “Evolution in the Enterprise” will explore enterprise adoption of stronger authentication technologies, including smart cards, smart tokens and embedded security chips, to secure the individual desktop and corporate networks. In the eAuthentication panel, representatives from the leading eAuthentication industry organizations and collaborative groups will discuss the state of identity management and federated identity.

Other panels will include executive-level presentations on the state of the markets and the industry, government implementations, international markets, contactless payments, transit implementations, wireless security and biometrics. In addition, small moderated discussion groups will gather in the birds-of-a-feather sessions for an open discussion and exchange of ideas on two topics relevant today–standards and interoperability, and business case and market adoption.

Training provided by the Educational Institute (EI) will be offered at the conference in a new course that combines the elements of the Smart Cards 101 technology basics course with its Advanced Business of Smart Cards 201 course. This course has been developed by leading industry professionals and is presented in an interactive, classroom environment.

The three OSCA awards will recognize those who have significantly influenced the market for smart cards in North America. This will be the first year that the Smart Card Alliance will present an OSCA award to an individual for leadership and accomplishments in the smart card industry. The other two awards will be presented to organizations. Submissions are due by September 17th, 2004. Information on submitting nominations for the awards is at http://www.securetechalliance.org.

The conference is open to all organizations and individuals who wish to learn about these newest trends in the smart card industry. Member organizations receive discounted pricing for single day or full conference registrations. The agenda and online registration can be found on the Alliance website, http://www.securetechalliance.org.

The Alliance estimates that 70 million Americans are now using smart cards in 30 million mobile phones, 20 million TV set top boxes, 15 million bankcards, 3.5 million government identity credentials and one million corporate IDs, among many other uses in the United States and Canada. Analysts predict a U.S. market value of $475 million for smart cards by 2006.

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.