Identity, Security, Payments, Biometrics, Smart Cards and Authentication News

Court extends injunction against NASA smart card credentialing background checks

Friday, January 18, 2008

The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit last week extended an injunction against NASA that temporarily prevents it from requiring certain contractors to submit to a new background-check process as part of a mandatory smart-card credentialing program. The Ninth Circuit noted that the background check process raised serious privacy issues and was far too broad in scope to meet any legitimate government need. It ruled that 28 contractors who had sued NASA in Los Angeles District Court last August over the background checks did not need to submit to those checks for the duration of the court proceedings. NASA had required the checks under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. HSPD-12 requires federal agencies to issue new tamperproof smart-card identity credentials called Personal Identity Verification cards to all employees and contractors.

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Operational Research Consultants Inc. (ORC), a subsidiary of WidePoint Corp., has been authorized to issue PIV-I as a certified non-federal issuer.

As a non-federal issuer, ORCs identity credentials, issued to government contractors, state and local governments, first responders and health care providers, have additional interoperability for customers who wish to conduct e-government and e-commerce transactions with other entities across the Federal Bridge.

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Biometrics enable expedited border screening

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Global Entry program is expanding enabling enrolled U.S. citizens to enjoy expedited screening when returning from travel abroad to a number of domestic airports. The program also makes them eligible to participate in similar programs at foreign airports.

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The Ralph Carr Judicial Center in Denver, Colorado has selected AMAG Technology’s Symmetry Homeland V7 Security Management System,to provide integrated access control and security management solutions from HID Global.

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The U.S. government has settled an infringement case with Leighton Technologies by agreeing to license its smart cards.

Leighton Technologies, a subsidiary of General Patent, filed a case against the federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in January 2010. Leighton alleged that 54 federal agencies used its six smart card patents without authorization. Leighton’s technology was also used in e-passports.

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Accurate Biometric announced it has been awarded a contract from the FBI for its Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS).

The contract is a significant one for Accurate as it enables them to offer same-day FBI fingerprint submission services for criminal background checks to clients such as housing authorities, Indian reservations and banks.

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The UK Border Agency has announced intentions to require applicants applying for six-month stays from outside the European Economic Area to use biometric residency permits starting at the end of February 2012, according to an HR Magazine article.

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