Q:What is your industry background and expertise in identity management?
A: I am currently director of government relations with HID Global, and also serve as chair of the Security Industry Association (SIA) State Policy Advocacy Working Group, which strives to educate legislators, business leaders and consumers about radio frequency technology and its benefits across a spectrum of applications, including identity management, physical and logical access control, food and drug safety, and child and patient safety. As HID Global’s director of government relations, I also take the lead in supporting the company’s partners and customers as they navigate today’s increasingly demanding environment in the area of privacy and identity management.
What will your role be at TechAmerica?
I will be chairing the organization’s Identity Management committee, which provides the industry with a forum for working with federal and state governments to develop identity authentication, verification and privacy best practices. The committee also promotes the use of technology to increase the security of identity management systems. The committee’s role continues to grow in importance. As the industry continues to innovate and develop new information technologies to improve our lives, it becomes increasingly critical that we simultaneously protect the security of personal data. This is the goal of TechAmerica’s identity management committee, and I am committed to advancing the organization’s mission.
What is the function of the TechAmerica’s identity management committee?
TechAmerica’s identity management committee focuses on a variety of issues including the implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12, healthcare identity management, biometrics, RFID, and federated identity and government credentialing programs. The organization also hosts an annual ID management policy conference and quarterly ID management breakfast briefings.
What are TechAmerica’s key focus areas during your coming two-year tenure?
TechAmerica’s Identity Management Committee will be focusing on several key areas related to the privacy and security issues associated with identity management:
• Taking the industry lead on the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace.
• Working with the Department of Commerce and the White House to examine the need for a national policy for cloud computing.
• Examining the identity-management issues that accompany our nation’s migration to a Smart Grid for improved energy management and conservation.
• Looking at the implications of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12, or (HSPD)-12, and how to help U.S. agencies migrate to full implementation of the directive for electronic physical and logical access-control.
• Driving policy discussions around the privacy and identity management issues associated with health IT.
Q: How significant is TechAmerica’s work at this particular time?
TechAmerica’s work is extremely important right now. Changes in security and identity technologies and increasing scrutiny by public policymakers underscore the importance of looking more closely at how and when new and existing information technologies might implicate privacy. The stakes continue to rise as technological advances improve how we live and do business but simultaneously put more identities and assets at risk for theft and fraudulent use. If the industry doesn’t address these issues on its own, one or both of two things will happen — government will need to step in and regulate a solution, and/or commerce will stall as people refuse to expose themselves to identity risks. Neither outcome is desirable. The ability to trust and protect identities is a cornerstone of economic success for our country and the world, and TechAmerica plays a key role in helping the industry find answers to today’s challenging identity-management issues.
