**GAO-08-292**                      Published: Feb 29, 2008. Publicly Released: Apr 09, 2008.                  

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## Highlights

Many forms of identification (ID) that federal employees and contractors use to access government-controlled buildings and information systems can be easily forged, stolen, or altered to allow unauthorized access. In an effort to increase the quality and security of federal ID and credentialing practices, the President issued Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) in August 2004, requiring the establishment of a governmentwide standard for secure and reliable forms of ID. The resulting standard is referred to as the personal identity verification (PIV) card. GAO was asked to determine the progress selected agencies have made in (1) implementing the capabilities of the PIV cards to enhance security and (2) achieving interoperability with other agencies. To address these objectives, GAO selected eight agencies that have a range of experience in implementing smart card-based ID systems and analyzed what actions the agencies have taken to implement PIV cards.

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## Topics

Government Operations

ContractorsFacility securityFederal employeesGovernment employeesGovernment facilitiesHomeland securityIdentification cardsIdentity verificationInformation systemsPersonal identification numbersSafety regulationSafety standardsSecurity assessmentsSecurity investigationsSecurity regulationsSecurity threatsStrategic planning