SAFLINK Corporation, a leading provider of biometric and smart card security solutions, today announced its selection as a key technology provider to BearingPoint, Inc. for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) prototype phase contract awarded to BearingPoint on August 10th. This is the third phase in a massive initiative designed to improve security at seaports, airports, rail, pipeline, trucking, and mass transit facilities by creating a nationwide credential to prevent unauthorized persons from gaining access to secure areas.
"The TWIC program is a high profile security initiative within the Transportation Security Administration and Department of Homeland Security. We are pleased to have SAFLINK on our team as we work on this critical phase of the program," said Michael Palmer, Managing Director with BearingPoint's Federal Services practice. "SAFLINK is a vital partner on this project and will be supplying biometric expertise and substantial elements of core authentication technology."
SAFLINK will provide biometric expertise and consulting services, biometric middleware for computer workstations, physical access control hardware and firmware for doorways and physical access points, and smart card middleware from Litronic, a SAFLINK company.
The goal of the seven-month prototype is to test jointly-developed administrative and business processes, collect transportation worker data, issue credentials, install and maintain integrated physical security with the credentials, and study day-to-day use of the cards. In this phase, about 200,000 workers from maritime, rail, aviation, and ground modes of transportation are expected to participate at 34 sites in three regions of the country.
The TWIC is a tamper-resistant, smart card-based credential that contains biometric information about the credential holder. Through this biometric data, each transportation facility can verify the identity of a worker and prevent unauthorized individuals from accessing secure areas. "We take great pride in our involvement in government programs such as this one. We believe that the TWIC program, when fully deployed, could substantially reduce the possibility of unauthorized individuals and groups gaining access to critical soft and hard targets. I am both proud and pleased that our technology can play a part in securing our nation's transportation system," said Glenn Argenbright, president and CEO of SAFLINK.
Argenbright continued: "This is an exciting moment for SAFLINK and we see this subcontract as further validation of our approach to security and authentication. TWIC is a major initiative, ultimately designed to provide enhanced security to millions of transportation workers. We believe this program could have a strong positive impact on our business moving forward, and will reinforce our vision and leadership in the security space. We believe the solution the public sector market is asking for is an excellent match with SAFLINK's strategy and direction. We go beyond point solutions and provide the customer with flexible, doorway-to-desktop solutions to solve their security needs."
Prototype operations will be conducted in three regions of the country: greater Philadelphia, Pa. and vicinity; greater Los Angeles and vicinity; and the 14 major port facilities in the state of Florida. Participation is voluntary and will include transportation workers such as truckers, longshoremen, and container terminal and airport personnel.
