Sponsored by the U.S. General Services Administration

NEW YORK, Aug. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/–Thomson Media, publishers of Card Technology and ID Newswire, announce CardTech/SecurTech ID Conference & Exhibition to be held November 18-20, 2002 at the Renaissance Washington, D.C. Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Since 1990, over 75,000 people have attended CardTech/SecurTech conferences to learn how to tamper-proof ID cards, protect personal privacy, and increase security with advanced card technologies and biometrics. The most basic requirements for ID systems–identity proofing, authentication, and revalidation–continually must be revisited as advances are made in the technologies.

The 2002 CardTech/SecurTech ID Conference & Exhibition: Identification Technologies for a Secure World, sponsored by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), will focus on the critical ID initiatives facing the government community, from heightening homeland security to creating more secure ID cards for building or network access. The latest pilots, case studies and demonstrations related to ID solutions and technologies will be presented over a period of three days. The conference has been designed to provide a venue for Federal agencies to gather and share intelligence about the technologies and experiences for deploying large-scale ID systems.

The GSA’s Center for Smart Card Solutions is extremely active in developing and promoting government ID programs. One highly focused program is the GSA Smart Access Common ID program, managed by the GSA’s Center for Smart Card Solutions. Partnering with the GSA will afford government attendees the chance to learn from the GSA smart card personnel who will be onsite to provide assistance in understanding how to prepare task orders under the contract.

On Monday, November 18th two concurrent workshops designed for program managers and non-technical professionals will be held. One workshop has been designed by the Defense Manpower Data Center staff who has just issued the first one million smart common access ID cards to military personnel. The second workshop provides information about the smart card (contact and contactless) technologies and biometrics that anyone involved in developing an ID program will need to know.

Jim Hall, former chair of the National Transportation Safety Board will kick off the second day with a keynote presentation. This high level, visionary style presentation will provide insight into the airport and airline security environments, the same environment in which the new border security and visa processing systems will have been implemented.

Two concurrent sessions focusing on ID in Homeland Security and Agency ID Applications will round out the program. While the advanced card or biometric technologies used in Homeland Security IDs and in Agency IDs may be similar, the trust profiles and levels of risk associated with each environment are vastly different–impacting how ID systems will be designed and implemented into either environment.

CardTech/SecurTech ID will also feature an Exhibit Hall and Product Demonstration Rooms filled with industry leaders providing IT solutions to the government community. The exhibition is open to anyone who wants to network, learn and expand their knowledge for what it really takes to create effective ID systems that meet your needs.

Joining Thomson Media publications, Card Technology and ID Newswire, as the official Media Sponsors of CardTech/SecurTech are Government Computer News and Washington Technology magazines. For more information about CardTech/SecurTech please log on to http://www.ctst.com or call toll-free (800) 442-CTST or email [email protected].

About Thomson Media

Thomson Media, a division of The Thomson Corporation, is a leading provider of information, data and software tools for professionals in the financial services and related technologies markets. In addition to CardTech/SecurTech, Card Technology and ID Newswire, its primary products and businesses include: American Banker, Financial Planning, National Mortgage News, The Bond Buyer, Securities Industry News, The Global Banking Resource, Payments & Risk Solutions Products, Credit Card Management, and Sheshunoff Information Services. Thomson Media’s publications, databases and work solutions are used by more than 750,000 clients worldwide.

The Thomson Corporation

The Thomson Corporation (http://www.thomson.com), with 2001 revenues of $7.2 billion, is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers. Thomson provides value-added information, software applications and tools to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. The Corporation’s common shares are listed on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC).