Government ID, Smart Cards, Identification and Authentication

Biometrics and the Department of Defense

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

The U.S. Department of Defense has been a leader when it comes to smart cards with its Common Access Card, but the agency is also forward thinking when it comes to biometrics.

The Defense Department is using biometrics in a variety of ways, including overseas for access to bases, at crime scenes to collect forensic information and at some facilities in the U.S. for access control, says Lisa Swan, deputy director for the Defense Department’s Biometric Task Force. The agency is even using multi-modal biometrics, a combination of face, fingerprint and others, to identify individuals in different circumstances.

The Biometric Task Force is a division of the U.S. Army but it works across the Defense Department to enable biometrics. Key to the agency’s efforts is its next generation Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS), which was launched Jan. 30 with the help of prime contractor Northup Grumman.

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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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A variant of malware called Sykipot is circulating that purportedly enables it to hijack U.S. Defense Department Common Access Cards and Windows smart cards, according to Alien Vault Labs. This variant, which appears to have been put together in March 2011, has been seen in dozens of attack samples from the past year.

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As part of the U.S. Department of State’s initiative to simplify and streamline customer service interactions and processes, the Office of Passport Services has started a 90-day pilot program for online passport card applications.

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The Dutch Ministry of Defense (MoD) has chosen Identive’s SmartFold smart card readers to provide secure remote network access for its employees.

The agency has a lot of restricted and sensitive data that has particular management requirements. The MoD felt that the Identive contact smart card reader would provide the desired level of security, yet be flexible enough to incorporate into the existing network security infrastructure.

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A new Morpho company under the Safran group has been launched called MorphoTrust USA.

The new company, which was formed after the acquisition of three divisions and the headquarters of former biometrics developer L-1 Identity Solutions, will serve as an identity solutions provider dedicated to the U.S. market only.

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The U.S. Government Printing Office designed and printed an FBI special events credential that was used at Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis by public safety personnel.

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