GSA is likely to advocate smart-card security

The General Services Administration tomorrow likely will recommend that federal buildings be secured with smart-card technology. A GSA official will testify at a House Government Reform subcommittee on Technology and Procurement Policy hearing to explain what commercial technologies are available to secure federal buildings.Administrator Stephen Perry today lauded the potential of smart cards at a luncheon sponsored by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association in Virginia. Although Perry could not confirm what Joseph Moravec, Public Building Service commissioner, would say at the hearing, Perry said he felt confident that smart cards is the best way to secure federal buildings.“In a few years I could see this type of technology in place in all federal buildings,” he told the audience. “The question is whether we are moving at a pace that will recognize the potential of security smart cards can bring.”Perry said the technology could be applied in degrees. For instance, the lowest level would be for employees to just swipe their cards in readers to enter a building. Another level would require a user to swipe a card and enter a four-digit code. The final level of security would entail swiping a card, entering a code and some type of biometric identification such as a thumbprint.“Using this technology is within our grasp, and it is a matter of just coming up with a plan,” Perry said.