ISMANING, Germany, Nov. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- SCM Microsystems, a leading provider of solutions that open the Digital World, announced today that it has received volume orders of smart card readers for the Department of Defense Common Access Card (CAC) program.
Recent orders from SCM's U.S. distributors topped 400,000 readers for ongoing CAC installations, beginning in the fourth quarter. These orders are included in the fourth quarter guidance SCM provided in its earnings release of November 10, 2008. SCM's readers will be used to provide secure logical (PC and network) access for military personnel, as required under both CAC and Homeland Security Presidential Directive - 12 (HSPD-12). SCM has been a significant supplier to the CAC program, shipping more than two million readers for the program to date. The Company has also shipped more than 100,000 readers to various government agencies to enable their compliance with the security directives of the newer inter-agency HSPD-12 Personal Identity Verification (PIV) program.
"For over a decade we have focused on providing smart card readers that address the evolving needs of security programs within the U.S. government," said David Holmes, Vice President Americas of SCM Microsystems. "Our success and relationships here have helped to establish SCM as one of the leading reader providers in the global marketplace. We remain committed to serving the government market and to providing the security solutions that support ground breaking programs such as CAC and HSPD-12."
HSPD-12 is the presidential order that requires all government employees and contractors to carry a standard identity credential that works across all agencies. The credential, in the form of a smart card, is intended to be used for secure access to facilities (physical access) and for securely logging on to government computers or networks (logical access). Known as the PIV card, this standard credential will be carried by more than six million government workers across all federal agencies. The 3.5 million CAC cards now active will have the PIV applet added as the cards are renewed, allowing the PIV cards and CAC cards to be interoperable.
SCM's smart card readers, including the SCR331, SCR3310, SCR3311, SCR243 and others, support both the widely deployed contact Common Access Cards (CAC I) as well as the newer contact/contactless CAC II cards, and are designed to be compatible with both existing and future identification credentials issued under HSPD-12 for federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Department of Interior, and all other federal agencies. SCM's readers are included on the Government Services Administration's (GSA) Approved Product List, which governs which products and services may be purchased by federal agencies for the HSPD-12 program.
