PIV Card standard specification from NIST gets updated
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the USA has issued an updated version of its standard specification Personal Identification Verification (PIV) Card.
The original FIPS 201 document from 2005 required all PIV cards to contain an integrated circuit chip for storing electronic credentials and protected biometric data — fingerprint specifics and, optionally, a photograph.
The FIPS 201-2 revision includes a derived PIV credential option for use in mobile devices; optional on-card fingerprint comparison capability; use of iris alone or in conjunction with fingerprints; secure messaging through a protected channel between cards and readers as an option; and remote updating of a card’s credentials.
The specification of the optional iris biometric is based on the ISO/IEC 19794-6 iris biometric standard published in 2011. These specifications can serve other iris-based authentication uses cases beyond the PIV program.
The on-card fingerprint comparison may be used as an alternate to the Personal Identification Number in use currently.
“Offering a strong credential provides better identity assurance as to who you are,” Hildegard Ferraiolo, a NIST computer scientist who co-authored the document said. “The standard can be updated every five years, if needed, and agencies wanted to incorporate their years of experience in a fresher revision.”
Access Control UK employs a variety of biometrics-based solutions that enable users to exert solid, reliable and accurate control over the access to specific premises or zones.
If you’d like to find out more about the range of solutions supplied by Access Control UK, both in terms of hardware (smart card readers, biometric readers, turnstiles, etc.) and software (access rights management software solutions, etc.), just contact us, we’ll be more than happy to answer any queries you might have.