Three employees in the Information Technology Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were chosen as among top "forward-thinking people working in government IT," according to FierceGovernmentIT, the publication that annually recognizes a group it calls the "Fierce 15."
Patrick Grother, Naomi Lefkovitz and Kevin Stine were selected by the magazine for handling "behind-the-scenes orchestration of some of the most progressive projects underway in government."
As the biometric testing project leader at NIST, Patrick Grother and his team focus on developing, evaluating, testing and providing guidelines for biometrics technologies for identification and authentication. Most recently, Grother and his team led research activities (documented in NIST Special Publication 800-76-2) on the use of biometrics in multifactor authentication, including images of the human iris to serve as a unique identifier, or biometric, on smart card credentials such as those used in federal government identity cards.
Senior Privacy Policy Advisor Naomi Lefkovitz is noted for leading the Federal Cloud Credential Exchange pilot program of the National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace. In this critical role, Lefkovitz developed ways to enhance privacy by adapting existing technologies. She is leading a research program in privacy engineering and privacy standards engagements.
Kevin Stine, group leader of NIST's Security Outreach and Integration Group, was recognized for his lead role in orchestrating the "open public review and comment process" that President Obama called for in Executive Order 13636 "Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity." "From those five words, Kevin Stine crafted a program of aggressive stakeholder engagement on which even critics of the framework lavish praise," wrote the FierceGovernmentIT editors. The final draft of the Cybersecurity Framework is due to the president in February, 2013.