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Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) is to establish a single, government-wide standard for identification
credentials to increase security, reduce identity fraud and to increase efficiencies within the government department and
agencies.
Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12, announced by the White House on August 27, 2004, enhances security,
increases Government efficiency, reduce identity fraud, and protect personal privacy by establishing a mandatory, Government-wide
standard for secure and reliable forms of identification issued by the Federal Government to its employees and contractors.
In response to HSPD-12, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has released a new standard, Federal
Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 201.
HSPD-12/FIPS 201 mandates the use of a “smart card”, an identification credential with a printable surface and embedded
electronics components, which it calls a “PIV – Personal Identity Verification card.” FIPS 201 incorporates three technical
publications specifying “Interfaces for Personal Identity Verification” (PIV) which specifies the interface and data elements of
the PIV card; Biometric Data Specification for Personal Identity Verification” specifies the technical acquisition and formatting
requirements for biometric data of the PIV system; and “Cryptographic Algorithms and Key Sizes for Personal Identity
Verification” specifies the acceptable cryptographic algorithms and key sizes to be implemented and used for the PIV system.
These cards will provide identifcation in several ways—photographic images printed on the card, biometric data (fingerprints)
stored on the card, personal information numbers (PIN) stored on the card, as well as other electronic credentials such as
digital certificates stored on the card.
Thales e-Security, a trusted and reliable partner of many U.S. federal agencies and contractors is assisting government agencies
in meeting the requirements of HSPD-12/FIPS 201 with its broad set of solution offerings.
Thales e-Security’s identity and access management solutions meet the requirements of HSPD-12/FIPS by providing:
- • Support of vendor agnostic multiple strong authentication and secure credential options:
- - Two-Factor Authentication Tokens
- - Digital Certificates
- - Smart Cards
- - USB Tokens
SafeSign Management Server - SafeSign Management Server is an identity management system that unites the issuing and
management of a large variety of authentication and identification technologies.
SafeSign Authentication Server - SafeSign provides a single unified platform that supports all users across all
applications and access channels according to the authentication requirements of the business. It allows central management of
authentication devices in a distributed business environment minimizing administration and operating costs.
SafeSign Crypto Module - SafeSign Crypto Module is the hardware security module delivering optimized cryptographic
functions specific to the needs of the SafeSign Authentication and Management Servers. It offers high security, high
availability and high performance to the entire SafeSign architecture accommodating all key management requirements.
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