BLUE BELL, Pa.--Unisys Corp. announced today that the General Services Administration has certified the company as a Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12) provider of integration services, products and managed security services. The certification enables Unisys to offer to civilian agencies in the federal government labor and consulting, systems engineering, and technical advisory and certification/accreditation services.
Under HSPD-12, federal employees and contractors would have biometrically-enabled identification credentials that would be interoperable among the various agencies. Benefits of this type of identification include improved security, reductions in identity theft and fraud and enhanced protection of the privacy of card holders.
"The effort to adapt and extend the government standards for generic use outside the federal government in public and private sectors is a key area in which Unisys expects to take a leadership position," said Mike Gibbons, vice president and general manager, strategic programs, Enterprise Security, Unisys. "Unisys believes that the standards established by the HSPD-12 initiative will go a long way toward helping our customers in both the public and private take proactive measures that enable them to turn security into a true asset that benefits their business, their constituents and their customers," Gibbons added.
To implement HSPD-12, the government drafted technical standards and business process definitions that will have value in a broad range of identity credential systems both in the public and private sectors. Unisys ID authentication solutions conform to those standards, but are not restricted to HSPD-12 implementation.
Unisys is the integrator for some of the world's largest and most sophisticated ID authentication programs including border control pilot programs in Australia and Canada; a national civil fingerprint system for South Africa; a multipurpose card, known as MyKad, for nearly 20 million citizens of Malaysia; and an ID card for registered voters in Costa Rica. Unisys also will perform technology systems integration work as part of the Boeing-led team on the Department of Homeland Security's SBInet, which is phase one of the department's comprehensive Strategic Border Initiative.
