XTec Incorporated issues PIV cards for Department of State

Successfuly completes implementation

Reston, Virginia -- XTec Incorporated has successfully completed its implementation of the Federal Government's Personal Identity Verification (PIV) program for the U.S. Department of State (DoS).

The U.S. Department of State awarded XTec a contract earlier this year for the upgrade of their existing XTec Credential Management System to PIV compliance, as they began implementing their solution for Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 (HSPD-12), a mandate which requires all federal workers and contractors to use a standard interoperable identification card for access to government buildings and resources.

XTec, an approved PIV end-to-end provider, completed the conversion of its AuthentX Credential Management System to allow State Department to commence issuing PIV compliant cards in a production environment, including upgrading the entire domestic access control system. Effective immediately, all credentials issued by State Department will be PIV cards using the High Security profile for physical access control. Department of State is one of the first agencies using the PIV cards for electronic access control across the agency. State Department's 4,000 smart card access control readers from XTec, which are used daily in thousand of access controls transactions across the enterprise, will support both the new PIV high security card and the prior GSC-IS compliant cards.

"HSPD-12 is the one of the most forward steps taken by the Federal Government to ensure the integrity of interoperable credentials, the identity verification of the people holding them and most important the national security," Albert Fernandez, President of XTec said. "We are proud that XTec has produced the first PIV credential to be used for enterprise level access control using the High Security profile."

"This was not about issuing a new FIPS 201 card. With State Department using smart cards since 1998, our first card issued had to work across the enterprise. Ensuring the cards work in all the access control points was not an option, but a requirement. We are pleased to have met this objective," Tony Mosley, Branch Chief of State Department said. "XTec and our other team members, including the 70 plus State Department HSPD-12 committee members did a great job achieving this important objective."

XTec was able to capitalize on the years of experience and standard of excellence set at the Department of State in achieving an HSPD-12 "End-to-End" compliant program. By utilizing its own technologies, XTec is able to deliver a complete solution to both large and small agencies. The modular approach to HSPD-12 implemented in XTec's AuthentX product line helps shorten the time it takes to make an entire organization compliant regardless of size.

About XTec

XTec is a leader in secure, interoperable authentication and verification systems. XTec develops, produces, and licenses enterprise level security solutions for Credentialing, Access Control, Information Systems, and Electronic Commerce for a wide range of government and commercial uses. XTec's focus is on providing a secure foundation from which customers can build secure enterprise web-based applications and cryptographic systems. XTec has a long-standing relationship with the Department of Homeland Security (formerly the United States Secret Service or USSS) for document security using XTec equipment to assist in the forensic tracing of counterfeit cards. XTec is a recognized leader in both government and commercial circles for its expertise and products for credentialing, identity, secure payment, and access control.