Law Students

Leopard?s Problems with Common Access Cards

By Aaron Robert Gott

Now that I’m on active duty again, I’m dealing with the compatibility issues of Macs with PCs on a more regular basis. In many cases, I could deal with them by coughing up the cash for Parallels and a copy of Windows (Boot Camp doesn’t appeal to me much). Specialized programs used in niche markets are the only time compatibility issues tend to come up anymore with Mac OS X, and even then, they’re easily conquered by Apple’s ability to run Windows.

Unfortunately, in one particular case, this isn’t true. The Department of Defense has integrated the Common Access Card (which is a type of smart card) into its digital business. In order to gain access to any military computer, one must have a CAC, which is a chip embedded in their DoD Identification Card. Slip your card into your CAC reader, enter your PIN and you’re in.

Some important official business requires a CAC. In order to access “Global” email accounts, the Defense Travel System (which you must use to get reimbursed for official travel) and other online programs from your personal computer, you can buy a CAC Reader and get everything done in the comfort of your home. It comes in handy when the mission or lack of DoD computer availability at work doesn’t allow for the completion of these important administrative tasks.

Most CAC readers are compatible with Mac OS X, or at least they were with Tiger. In the rush to release Leopard, this compatibility became hit or miss, seemingly indiscriminate of model or processor. For some MacBook Pros (for example), you can plug in your CAC reader and it lights right up. Others with the same model can fix it by downloading and installing a series of patches (if they know more about terminal than I). Another person with the same model and mad nerd knowledge of Unix might not ever get their CAC to blink, all while controlling for the other variable: the same model and version of a CAC reader.

What’s worse, Apple has been silent on this issue, as one can tell from the amount of frustration on the Fed Talk Apple email list (Google CAC Reader Leopard). An easy fix could be a ways off.

So, how could this affect you? While CAC is a DoD standard, it is also used by DoD contractors and some other US federal government employees. You never know, it could affect some recent law school grads who want to make working at home a seamless task.

Comments

View comments and add your own to this post (no registration required) in the Mac Law Students Forum.

Full post as published by Mac Law Students on June 06, 2008 (boomark / email).