National Institute of Standards and Technology 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will meet Tuesday, December 13, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. and Wednesday, December 14, 2005 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology is composed of fifteen members appointed by the Director of NIST who are eminent in such fields as business, research, new product development, engineering, labor, education, management consulting, environment, and international relations. The purpose of this meeting is to review and make recommendations regarding general policy for the Institute, its organization, its budget, and its programs within the framework of applicable national policies as set forth by the President and the Congress. The agenda will include an update on NIST's activities, a presentation on NIST's Strategic Planning and Priority-Setting Process, an Overview of the Strategic Planning Process in selected laboratories, a report on a Vision for the NIST U.S. Measurement System Project, a VCAT Panel on Best Practices for Strategic Planning, and three laboratory tours. The agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda will be posted on the NIST Web site.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., notice is hereby given that the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will meet Tuesday, December 6, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Wednesday, December 7, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. All sessions will be open to the public. The Advisory Board was established by the Computer Security Act of 1987 (Pub. L. 100-235) and amended by the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347) to advise the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of NIST on security and privacy issues pertaining to Federal computer systems. Details regarding the Board's activities are available at https://csrc.nist.gov/ispab/.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) proposes to revise some of its safety codes and standards and requests proposals from the public to amend existing or begin the process of developing new NFPA safety codes and standards. The purpose of this request is to increase public participation in the system used by NFPA to develop its codes and standards. The publication of this notice of request for proposals by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on behalf of NFPA is being undertaken as a public service; NIST does not necessarily endorse, approve, or recommend any of the standards referenced in the notice. The NFPA process provides ample opportunity for public participation in the development of its codes and standards. All NFPA codes and standards are revised and updated every three to five years in Revision Cycles that begin twice each year and that takes approximately two years to complete. Each Revision Cycle proceeds according to a published schedule that includes final dates for all major events in the process. The process contains five basic steps that are followed both for developing new documents as well as revising existing documents. These steps are: Calling for Proposals; Publishing the Proposals in the Report on Proposals; Calling for Comments on the Committee's disposition of the proposals and these Comments are published in the Report on Comments; having a Technical Report Session at the NFPA Annual Meeting; and finally, the Standards Council Consideration and Issuance of documents.

The inventions listed below are owned in whole by the U.S. Government, as represented by the Department of Commerce. The inventions are available for licensing in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 and 37 CFR part 404 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally funded research and development.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that the Advanced Technology Program Advisory Committee, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will meet Tuesday, November 1, 2005 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Advanced Technology Program Advisory Committee is composed of ten members appointed by the Director of NIST; who are eminent in such fields as business, research, new product development, engineering, education, and management consulting. The purpose of this meeting is to review and make recommendations regarding general policy for the Advanced Technology Program (ATP), its organization, its budget, and its programs within the framework of applicable national policies as set forth by the President and the Congress. The agenda will include presentations on American Competitiveness and the U.S. Electronics Sector, Nanotechnology, the Current State of Aquaculture and International Economic Challenges. A discussion scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. and to end at 4 p.m. on November 1, 2005, on ATP budget issues will be closed. Agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. All visitors to the National Institute of Standards and Technology site will have to pre-register to be admitted. Please submit your name, time of arrival, e-mail address and phone number to Donna Paul no later than Friday, October 28, and she will provide you with instructions for admittance. Ms. Paul's e-mail address is donna.paul@nist.gov and her phone number is 301/975-2162.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces proposed changes to Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) Publication 201, Standard for Personal Identity Verification of Federal Employees and Contractors. The changes to Section 2.2, PIV Identify Proofing and Registration Requirements, and to Section 5.3.1, PIV Card Issuance, will clarify the identity proofing and registration process that departments and agencies should follow when issuing identity credentials. These changes are required to make FIPS 201 consistent with the Memorandum for All Departments and Agencies (M-05- 24), issued by the Office of Management and Budget on August 5, 2005, Implementation of Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD) 12 Policy for a Common Identification Standard for Federal Employees and Contractors. Before recommending these proposed changes to FIPS 201 to the Secretary of Commerce for review and approval, NIST invites comments from the public, users, the information technology industry, and Federal, State and local government organizations concerning the proposed changes.

The National Construction Safety Team (NCST) Advisory Committee (Committee), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will meet Monday, September 12, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Tuesday, September 13, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. The primary purpose of this meeting is to review the changes made to the World Trade Center (WTC) Investigation Final Reports in response to comments received from the public. The NCST Advisory Committee will also discuss its annual report to the Congress. The agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda will be posted on the NIST Web site at www.nist.gov/ncst.

The Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce, and the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), United States Department of Commerce, are amending the rules that implement the Fastener Quality Act of 1999 to provide that all documents submitted in connection with the recordal of fastener insignia must be mailed to a particular postal box maintained by United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology (VCAT), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), will meet Tuesday, September 13, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology is composed of fifteen members appointed by the Director of NIST; who are eminent in such fields as business, research, new product development, engineering, labor, education, management consulting, environment, and international relations. The purpose of this meeting is to review and make recommendations regarding general policy for the Institute, its organization, its budget, and its programs within the framework of applicable national policies as set forth by the President and the Congress. The agenda will include updates on NIST's activities and the U.S. Measurement System Initiative; presentations on Implementation of NIST Strategic Plan in Homeland Security, including an overview of the Department of Homeland Security's Agenda for Homeland Security and the NIST role; Response to VCAT Recommendations in the FY 2004 Annual Report; and two laboratory tours. Discussions on NIST budget and planning information scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m. and to end at 9:45 a.m. on September 13 will be closed. Agenda may change to accommodate Committee business. The final agenda will be posted on the NIST Web site. All visitors to the National Institute of Standards and Technology site will have to pre-register to be admitted. Please submit your name, time of arrival, e-mail address and phone number to Carolyn Peters no later than Thursday, September 8, and she will provide you with instructions for admittance. Mrs. Peter's e-mail address is carolyn.peters@nist.gov and her phone number is (301) 975- 5607.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces the first in a series of planned workshops being held in support of NIST's Software Assurance Metrics and Tool Evaluation (SAMATE) project. NIST is working with industry, academia, and users: To identify deficiencies in software assurance (SA) methods and tools To develop metrics for the effectiveness of SA tools. NIST invites parties interested in these issues to contribute to the specification of such metrics and to the development of reference data sets capable of testing the effectiveness of SA tools. These reference data sets, when used during an SA tool's development, can aid in building a correct implementation with regard to these metrics. The first workshop ``Defining the State of the Art in Software Security Tools'' is being held at NIST Gaithersburg August 10 and 11. Future Workshops will be announced on the Project's Web site https:// samate.nist.gov/ and on other SA forums.

NIST invites and requests nomination of individuals for appointment to the Advanced Technology Program Advisory Committee. NIST will consider nominations received in response to this notice for appointment to the Committee, in additional to nominations already received.

NIST invites and requests nomination of individuals for appointment to Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (Board). The terms of some of the members of the Board will soon expire. NIST will consider nominations received in response to this notice for appointment to the Committee, in addition to nominations already received.

The inventions listed below are owned in whole by the U.S. Government, as represented by the Department of Commerce. The inventions are available for licensing in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 and 37 CFR part 404 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally funded research and development.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announces the release of draft Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) Publication 200, Minimum Security Requirements for Federal Information and Information Systems for public comment. Draft FIPS Publication 200 is one of a series of security standards and guidelines that NIST is developing to help federal agencies implement their responsibilities under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). The FISMA requires that all federal agencies develop, document and implement agency-wide information security programs to protect federal information and information systems. Draft FIPS Publication 200, which will be used with other publications already issued by NIST, specifies minimum security requirements for federal information and information systems and a risk-based process for selecting the security controls necessary to satisfy the minimum requirements. Prior to the submission of this proposed standard to the Secretary of Commerce for review and approval, it is essential that consideration be given to the needs and views of the general public, the information technology industry, and federal, state, and local government organizations. The purpose of this notice is to solicit such views.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) proposes to withdraw ten (10) Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) from the FIPS series. The standards proposed for withdrawal include FIPS 161-2, FIPS 183, FIPS 184, FIPS 192 and 192-1, which adopt voluntary industry standards for Federal government use. These FIPS are obsolete because they have not been updated to reference current or revised voluntary industry standards. In addition, FIPS 4-2, FIPS 5-2, FIPS 6-4, and FIPS 10-4, adopt specifications or data standards that are developed and maintained by other Federal government agencies or by voluntary industry standards organizations. These FIPS have not been updated to reflect the changes and modifications that have been made by the organizations that develop and maintain the specifications and data representations. FIPS 113, Computer Data Authentication, specifies an algorithm for generating and verifying a Message Authentication Code (MAC). Since the algorithm is based on the Data Encryption Standard, which has been recommended for withdrawal, NIST plans to recommend the use of newer techniques for data authentication based on more secure algorithms. Prior to the submission of this proposed withdrawal of FIPS to the Secretary of Commerce for review and approval, NIST invites comments from the public, users, the information technology industry, and Federal, State and local governments government organizations concerning the withdrawal of the FIPS.

Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Weights and Measures will be held July 10 through 14, 2005, at the Hilton in Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL. This meeting is open to the public. Meeting registration and hotel information can be found on the NCWM Web site (https://www.ncwm.net). The National Conference on Weights and Measures is an organization of weights and measures enforcement officials of the states, counties, and cities of the United States, and private sector representatives. The Annual Meeting of the Conference brings together enforcement officials, other government officials, and representatives of business, industry, trade associations, and consumer organizations to discuss and vote upon subjects related to the field of weights and measures technology and administration. Pursuant to (15 U.S.C. 272(b)(6)), the National Institute of Standards and Technology supports the National Conference on Weights and Measures in order to promote uniformity among the States in the complexity of laws, regulations, methods of inspection, and testing of equipment that comprises regulatory control by the states of commercial weighing and measuring.

The Department of Commerce (DOC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the continuing and proposed information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The Department of Commerce (DOC), as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on the continuing and proposed information collection, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Pub. L. 104-13 (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).

The inventions listed below are jointly owned by the U.S. Government, as represented by the Department of Commerce. The inventions are available for licensing in accordance with 35 U.S.C. 207 and 37 CFR part 404 to achieve expeditious commercialization of results of federally funded research and development.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will host a public workshop to provide additional guidance on Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) 201 implementation. The workshop is designed to provide clarifications and respond to the questions raised by the industry and Federal agencies. NIST has received many questions as to industry's plans to deliver products that are PIV-II compliant (i.e., meet the requirements of FIPS 201, PIV-II and NIST SP 800-73, end-point specifications). Commercial vendors have made significant progress in developing solutions to meet PIV-II requirements. The workshop will provide an opportunity for the industry to provide brief details to the participants, particularly agency officials, as to their product availability and planned timetables so that agencies can plan accordingly for PIV-II compliant implementations and procurement. NIST will discuss, in greater detail, the mandates and requirements of the FIPS 201 and related Special Publications through a series of educational presentations including the NIST reference implementation. The workshop agenda topics will be available at https:// csrc.nist.gov/piv-project by May 31, 2005.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) revises existing standards and adopts new standards twice a year. At its January and July meetings, the NFPA Standards Council acts on recommendations made by its technical committees. The purpose of this notice is to request comments on the technical reports that will be presented at NFPA's 2006 June Cycle. The publication of this notice by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) on behalf of NFPA is being undertaken as a public service; NIST does not necessarily endorse, approve, or recommend any of the standards referenced in the notice.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., notice is hereby given that the Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) will meet Tuesday, June 7, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., Wednesday, June 8, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Thursday, June 9, 2005, from 8:30 a.m. until 12 p.m. All sessions will be open to the public. The Advisory Board was established by the Computer Security Act of 1987 (Pub. L. 100-235) and amended by the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (Pub. L. 107-347) to advise the Secretary of Commerce and the Director of NIST on security and privacy issues pertaining to federal computer systems. Details regarding the Board's activities are available at https:// csrc.nist.gov/ispab/.

The Secretary of Commerce has approved the withdrawal of FIPS 46-3, Data Encryption Standard (DES); FIPS 74, Guidelines for Implementing and Using the NBS Data Encryption Standard; and FIPS 81, DES Modes of Operation. These FIPS are withdrawn because FIPS 46-3, DES, no longer provides the security that is needed to protect Federal government information. FIPS 74 and 81 are associated standards that provide for the implementation and operation of the DES. Federal government organizations are now encouraged to use FIPS 197, Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which was approved for Federal government use in November 2001. FIPS 197 specifies a faster and stronger algorithm than the DES for encryption. For some applications, Federal government departments and agencies may use the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm to provide cryptographic protection for their information. This algorithm and its uses have been specified in NIST Special Publication 800-67, Recommendations for the Triple Data Encryption Algorithm (TDEA) Block Cipher, issued in May 2004. FIPS 197 and SP 800- 67 are available on NIST's Web pages. The content of these withdrawn standards will remain available at https://csrc.nist.gov/publications/ fips/ as reference documents and these three FIPS will be listed as withdrawn, rather than current FIPS.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. app. 2, notice is hereby given that there will be a meeting of the Board of Overseers of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award on June 8, 2005. The Board of Overseers is composed of eleven members prominent in the field of quality management and appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, assembled to advise the Secretary of Commerce on the conduct of the Baldrige Award. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss and review information received from the National Institute of Standards and Technology with the members of the Judges Panel of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. The agenda will include: Discussions on Nonprofit Eligibility Rules, Baldrige Marketing Team Activities, Baldrige Program/Applicant Metrics, and Use of Loaned Executives to Analyze Baldrige Application Data, a Program and Budget Update and Issues from June 7 Judges' Meeting. All visitors to the National Institute of Standards and Technology site will have to pre-register to be admitted. Please submit your name, time of arrival, e-mail address and phone number to Virginia Davis no later than Monday, June 6, 2005, and she will provide you with instructions for admittance. Ms. Davis' e-mail address is virginia.davis@nist.gov and her phone number is (301) 975-2361.

This notice provides for changes to the existing provisions of the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Alternative Personnel Management System (APMS) published October 21, 1997, (62 FR 54606), primarily to strengthen the link between pay and performance, to simplify the pay-for-performance system, and to broaden the link between performance and retention service credit for reduction in force.