Verizon to supply VA with identity cards

Nearly 500,000 employees and contractors with the Veterans Affairs Department will get new managed smart cards from Verizon Business under a new contract worth up to $6.1 million.

The new identity credentialing service is designed to address new federal guidelines to enhance security and reduce identity fraud. The contract is for one year with two option years.

The directive's guidelines require that identification issued to gain access to facilities and information technology systems be based on sound criteria for verifying an individual employee's identity and strongly resistant to identity fraud, tampering, counterfeiting and exploitation by terrorists.

The guidelines also must be rapidly authenticated electronically and issued only by providers whose reliability has been established through an official accreditation process.

Verizon Business will host and manage the Veterans Affairs credential solutions in a secure Verizon Business data center that is supported 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with critical services backed up by redundant systems.

In July 2007, Verizon Business acquired Cybertrust, a provider of global information security services including identity management.

Parent company Verizon Communications Inc., of New York, ranks No. 18 on Washington Technology's 2008 Top 100 list of the largest federal government prime contractors.