Then there was the challenge of PKI-enabling application on Defense Department networks. With many different applications and vendors involved this didn’t always go smoothly, Jack says. “But once it’s employed the value proposition becomes so demonstrative because you cut the overhead costs.” Performance reviews, travel and many other tasks are now handled electronically. According to Jack, “(thanks to the card) the typical DOD employee can touch and do many things in the virtual environment.”
and the White House Office of Management and Budget. Butler says the agency has taken some time to adjust to the new specification, but it’s gaining momentum and there have been cross agency use of PKI certificates with the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs. The DOD has now issued more than 80% of the PIV-compliant Common Access cards, Butler says, “we’re on track to continue moving that along.” Other form factors on the horizon?
PIV: Blessing or curse? When HSPD-12 was signed in 2005 it would have appeared the Defense Department would be in good shape. The largest federal agency already had smart cards issued and the infrastructure in place to support them. But the FIPS 201 standard veered from what the Defense Department was doing. “There was a requirement for a fairly major shift,” Butler says. The Defense Department if still adjusting for this shift, a situation that has brought criticism from both the Government Accountability Office
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The Defense Department is planning to expand the use of PKI, including adding the technology to non-person entities such as routers, switches, hubs and even PDAs and laptops, Jack says. “The devices would have a PKI that is bound and vetted so it would be recognized on a digital level,” he says. They are also considering the use of other form factors, such as mobile devices, for credentials to login to networks, Jack says. “We’re starting to look at technology that’s available to the commercial sector that comes in a number of different form factors,” Jack says