In the United States, biometrics firm Identix and Northrop Grumman Information Technology (IT) have demonstrated to the US Department of Defense (DoD) biometric technology as added security for the DoD’s new department-wide ID card.
The DoD’s Common Access Card (CAC) is intended to be an identification card for all active-duty military personnel, Selected Reserve and National Guard, plus the Department’s civilian employees and eligible contractors. The CAC is a smart card with an embedded computer chip that will be used to enable authenticated and authorised physical access to installations, buildings, and controlled spaces. The CAC will provide authenticated and authorized access to military computer networks and systems. More than 800,000 cards have been issued to date, with distribution expected to exceed four million in the next two years. Northrop Grumman IT and Identix have been asked to integrate fingerprint biometrics into a standard offering for testing and evaluation for the federal government’s smart ID card platform. According to recent DoD request for proposals, the Department of Defense has deemed the use of minutia-based fingerprint biometrics as the standard for military and federal civilian smart card ID badges. During the technical demonstrations, Northrop Grumman IT and Identix integrated and documented several scenarios for authenticating individuals with intelligent smart cards, including template and match on card (TOC and MOC). DoD continues to test and evaluate the solutions. A DoD decision is expected in November.
What they say
Bob Wilberger, director, Smart Card Solutions for Northrop Grumman IT, said: ?Having a Defense Department and GSA standard protocol for integrating biometrics and smart cards should go a long way to speeding the deployment of this much needed technology throughout government and corporate entities. Identix brings their biometric technology expertise into this solution and we look forward to working with them.? Identix President Dr Joseph J Atick said: ?We see a clear correlation between the results of the technical demonstrations and meeting the demand for smart IDs in a variety of homeland security applications. We look forward to working closely with Northrop Grumman IT to enhance the security and functionality of its Smart ID cards and to provide solutions for government and corporate entities alike.? Visit www.identix.com
