Contract for Treasury 'smart cards' awarded

The federal government awarded the technology firm Maximus a $1.4 million contract to help create "smart cards" to identify Treasury Department employees.

Maximus is one of four vendors to receive funds from the Federal Technology Service at the General Services Administration to implement the smart-card project.

Some 9,000 employees at the Treasury Department, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, Internal Revenue Service and Secret Service will receive the cards, which contain chips that provide access to buildings, computers and electronic systems.

The cards are encrypted and contain biometrics such as fingerprints.

"GSA's Common Access ID Contract and the interoperable standards that we've developed offer agencies the best smart-card technology currently available in government and the private sector," FTS Commissioner Sandra Bates said in a statement.