Cac Card
Importance of a Common Access Card
By: LCpl Crisp, Darius D.
I am writing this essay about the importance of a Common Access Card. Which is also known as a “CAC” card. The Common Access Card (CAC) is a United States Deparrtment of Defense (DoD) Smart Card. The card is issued to Active-duty Military Personnel, Reserve Personnel, Civilian Personnel, state employees of the National Guard, contractor personnel, and other non-DoD government employees. The CAC is the size of a standard credit card and stores 64 or 128 kB of data storage and memory on a single integrated circuit. The CAC is used as a general identification card as well as for authentication to enable access to DoD computers, networks, and certain DoD facilities. It also serves as an identification card under the Geneva Coventions. You must input a PIN number in order to access any Government Computer using the CAC card. The CAC card enables encrypting and cryptographically signing email, facilitating the use of authentication tools, and establishes an authoritative process for the use of identity credentials. The CAC has many objectives, including controlling access to computer networks, enabling users to sign documents electronically, encrypt email messages, and enter controlled facilities.
There also common problems with The CAC card. The microchip is fragile and regular wear can make the card no longer serviceable. Cards wil also delaminate over time from repeated inserting and removal of the CAC card. The gold chip can get extremely dirty. An easy way to clean it is with and eraser or other solvents. Both the client computer and the web server currently need to have a complete set of DoD Certificate Authority certificates in their trusted certificate store, or login will fail. Troubleshooting this can be difficult, since at first glance it appears to users that their computers are set up correctly. In addition, different CAC vendors have posed issues with different card reader systems. Often
By: LCpl Crisp, Darius D.
I am writing this essay about the importance of a Common Access Card. Which is also known as a “CAC” card. The Common Access Card (CAC) is a United States Deparrtment of Defense (DoD) Smart Card. The card is issued to Active-duty Military Personnel, Reserve Personnel, Civilian Personnel, state employees of the National Guard, contractor personnel, and other non-DoD government employees. The CAC is the size of a standard credit card and stores 64 or 128 kB of data storage and memory on a single integrated circuit. The CAC is used as a general identification card as well as for authentication to enable access to DoD computers, networks, and certain DoD facilities. It also serves as an identification card under the Geneva Coventions. You must input a PIN number in order to access any Government Computer using the CAC card. The CAC card enables encrypting and cryptographically signing email, facilitating the use of authentication tools, and establishes an authoritative process for the use of identity credentials. The CAC has many objectives, including controlling access to computer networks, enabling users to sign documents electronically, encrypt email messages, and enter controlled facilities.
There also common problems with The CAC card. The microchip is fragile and regular wear can make the card no longer serviceable. Cards wil also delaminate over time from repeated inserting and removal of the CAC card. The gold chip can get extremely dirty. An easy way to clean it is with and eraser or other solvents. Both the client computer and the web server currently need to have a complete set of DoD Certificate Authority certificates in their trusted certificate store, or login will fail. Troubleshooting this can be difficult, since at first glance it appears to users that their computers are set up correctly. In addition, different CAC vendors have posed issues with different card reader systems. Often