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

TSA behind schedule on biometric systems

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

A report from Richard Skinner, Inspector General for the Department of Homeland Security, has chided the U.S. Transportation Security Administration for a number of poor policies and procedures including the missing of multiple deadlines to have a biometric system in place, according to a Clarion Ledger article.

The TSA has missed two deadlines set by Congress to have a system in place that identifies law enforcement officers.


While TSA officials have assured that they are aggressively seeking a solution, the report from Skinner contradicts that by asserting that there is no evidence supporting the TSA’s claim such as a developed action plan or budget requests. In the meantime, the TSA has reached out to local law enforcement agencies asking that they use the secure National Law Enforcement Telecommunication System to let TSA officials know if an armed officer is planning on boarding a plane ahead of time.

The need for this system has proved to be increasingly important as TSA agents have been fooled time and again by forged documents and badges. Outside of implementing a biometric system, Skinner’s report recommends updating or replacing many defunct policies and procedure to better secure airports such as better screening at checkpoints.

Read the full story here [end] 

The General Services Administration (GSA) has implemented its first cloud-based physical access system at the Neal Smith Federal Building in Des Moines, Iowa.

The GSA contracted with BridgePoint Systems to utilize its TrustAlert Physical Access Control Systems. BridgePoint partnered with EmbarkIT to install the system, which replaced the GSA’s 10-year-old legacy system. The system leverages the GSA’s Kansas City, Missouri-based WAN and remote IT infrastructure, which allows the building to shrink its carbon footprint.

read more »

The biometric program at HMP Isis prison in London requires inmates to authenticate their identities via thumbprint before moving from one area to the next. System errors, however, have been leading to back-ups that leads to all prisoners waiting before they can move on, according to an article from The Telegraph.

read more »

Codebench Inc. and S2 Security Corp. announced that Codebench’s PIVCheck Plus software suite, a card validation, authentication, and registration solution for HSPD-12 compliance, now integrates with the S2 NetBox Extreme and Enterprise systems from S2 Security Corporation.

read more »

In an effort to streamline passenger security, Jakarta, Indonesia’s Soekarno-Hatta Airport has opened the country’s first biometric immigration gate.

Fingerprint biometric identification provider BIO-key International, Inc. and Oakwell Engineering Limited partnered to create the new gate, designed for use by passengers with electronic passports. Passengers submit their e-passports and authenticate with a fingerprint.

read more »

Codebench Inc. and Hirsch Identive announced the integration of Codebench’s PIVCheck Plus software with Hirsch Identive’s Velocity Management Software, which aims to provide federal government and commercial customers with a solution for identity validation, authentication and PACS registration using mobile handheld devices.

read more »

ImageWare Systems announced that the Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), an agency that oversees Los Angeles International (LAX) airport, LA/Ontario International airport and Van Nuys airport, has placed an order for a number of biometric identity management and credentialing solutions.

read more »