PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J., Oct. 23, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Secure Technology Alliance Access Control, Identity, and Health and Human Services Councils have redefined their charters to align with the expanded focus of the Alliance. The Secure Technology Alliance (formerly known as the Smart Card Alliance) expanded its charter and activities in March 2017 to include multiple form factors and related hardware and software technologies supporting support the implementation of secure solutions.
“Our industry councils play an important role in the Secure Technology Alliance by creating a place for our members to come together to provide education, best practices and guidance for specific industries,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Secure Technology Alliance. “By aligning with the Alliance’s expanded focus, the Access Control, Identity, and Health and Human Services Councils will now engage in activities across a broadened spectrum of security technologies and applications in addition to the smart card.”
“Members looking to provide education and actionable guidance, collaborate with peers, and encourage adoption of secure technologies are invited to participate in any of our industry councils to help propel the industry forward,” Vanderhoof added.
Access Control Council
The Access Control Council charter now focuses on accelerating the widespread acceptance, use, and application of a broader set of secure technologies in various form factors for physical and logical access control. The group brings together, in an open forum, leading users and technologists from both the public and private sectors. The council works on activities that are important to the access control community and helps expand adoption of secure technologies in this important market.
Some of the council’s activities include:
- Developing white papers and briefings on best practices for use of secure technologies for both physical and logical access control
- Providing expert industry resources to assist with the understanding and implementation of secure technologies to accomplish multi-factor authentication
- Providing expert industry resources to assist governmental and non-governmental organizations in the use of standards-based identity, authentication, and authorization technologies for logical and physical access control
- Providing expert industry resources to assist organizations in the use of biometrics for authentication
- Participating in the development of standards and specifications for using secure technology in physical and logical access control systems
- Collaborating with other industry and government organizations to influence standards and develop best practices
- Providing subject matter experts for various speaking engagements
For more information on the Access Control Council, visit https://www.securetechalliance.org/activities-councils-access-control/.
Health and Human Services Council
Previously focused on activities to promote the use of smart cards in healthcare, the revised charter of the Health and Human Services Council includes activities to stimulate the understanding, adoption and widespread acceptance of single- and multi-application secure technologies for organizations with a healthcare focus – hospitals, payers, providers and those with an interest in healthcare. The council fosters an environment that allows subject matter experts, including payers, providers and technologists, to work together to educate and promote the adoption of secure technologies through product- and service-agnostic white papers, presentations and discussions.
The Health and Human Services Council’s activities include:
- Providing educational resources for health and human services organizations, consumers, government organizations and members to promote the deployment of secure technologies and privacy standards
- Identifying the challenges and opportunities in the emerging health and human services marketplace that can be supported by secure technology
- Promoting the development and use of standards for health and human services applications
- Educating members on new opportunities, industry trends and advancements in technology and the healthcare industry
- Hosting guest speakers who provide educational briefings on various topics and promote discussions
- Providing opportunities to present and attend conferences related to healthcare security and privacy
For more information on the Health and Human Services Council, visit https://www.securetechalliance.org/activities-councils-health-and-human-services/.
Identity Council
The Identity Council has expanded its charter and activities to focus on broader identity authentication solutions leveraging embedded chip technology and privacy- and security-enhancing software. The Identity Council serves to influence standards and best practices, serves as an educational resource, and provides a voice in public policy influencing adoption, implementation, and use. This council is the focal point for the Alliance’s identity-related efforts, and collaborates with other councils to provide guidance on relevant projects. Key areas of focus for the Identity Council are: identity trust frameworks; digital identity; strong authentication; authorization; and biometrics.
Activities include:
- Developing identity-related educational resources for the public and private sectors to inform buyers and requirement setters and promote market adoption and expansion
- Promoting a person-centric view of identity management supporting both central identity management and the interoperability of systems to reduce silos or closed identity environments
- Promoting identity trust frameworks and best practices as potential solutions in the absence of a single government or commercial issuer
- Enhancing and supporting awareness across the identity community to gain synergy of efforts, reduce redundancy and reduce overlap of member resources
- Developing industry positions on key identity issues and offering perspectives on solutions
- Maintaining an active, public voice on identity topics, promoting the positive aspects of identity technology solutions, and responding to misinformation about identity technology
- Advocating the use of biometric technology as an important component of many identity systems
For more information on the Identity Council, visit https://www.securetechalliance.org/activities-councils-identity/.
The Secure Technology Alliance encourages members to participate in the councils, including the Access Control, Health and Human Services, Identity, Internet of Things Security, Mobile, Payments, and Transportation Councils. Information about the councils is available at https://www.securetechalliance.org/alliance-industry-councils/, and for information regarding council participation, contact Mike Strock, mstrock@securetechalliance.org.
Non-members are also invited to join the Secure Technology Alliance and participate its councils. For information on Secure Technology Alliance membership, visit https://www.securetechalliance.org/membership-information-membership-kit/.
About the Secure Technology Alliance
The Secure Technology Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption and widespread application of secure solutions, including smart cards, embedded chip technology, and related hardware and software across a variety of markets including authentication, commerce and Internet of Things (IoT).
The Secure Technology Alliance, formerly known as the Smart Card Alliance, invests heavily in education on the appropriate uses of secure technologies to enable privacy and data protection. The Secure Technology Alliance delivers on its mission through training, research, publications, industry outreach and open forums for end users and industry stakeholders in payments, mobile, healthcare, identity and access, transportation, and the IoT in the U.S. and Latin America.
For more information, please visit www.securetechalliance.org.
CONTACT:
Megan Shamas
Montner Tech PR
203-226-9290
mshamas@montner.com
