NIST issues fed ID card specs

The National Institute of Standards and Technology Jan. 31 released the final public draft of recommended security controls for federal systems, a fine-tuned version of a document that will become a mandatory Federal Information Processing Standard by the end of the year.

Special Publication 800-73 firms up biometric plans for governmentwide personal identity-verification cards. Special Publication 800-76, published last month, details how to capture correctly fingerprints and full-frontal facial images.

Together with Federal Information Processing Standard 201, due by Feb. 28, the three documents will set lifecycle procedures for registration, issuance and use of the cards.