Sunshine State launches credentialing system for seaport employees
Florida officials selected Identity Commander, an integrated identity and credential-management system, to supply ID cards for seaport employees throughout the state. The security platform also will be deployed at Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, at the agency’s Tallahassee headquarters.
Made by GE Security Inc., based in Bradenton, Fla., Identity Commander delivers a biometric ID solution that complies with anticipated federal credentialing programs.
GE Security was selected as the vendor of choice to manage port credentials for Florida during a bid process conducted in 2001. The GE system was subsequently upgraded to work with either the Florida Uniform Port Access Credential (FUPAC) or the federal Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC).
To expand capabilities of Identity Commander, GE partnered with San Diego-based ImageWare Systems Inc., which provided biometric identity management. The enhanced system supports biometric enrollment, identification, verification and identity proofing, as well as card management and issuance of the biometrically enabled FUPAC badges.
Validated security
With the FUPAC system, the port authority confirms the applicant’s employer-sponsorship, binds the applicant to his or her biometric record and validates the identity source documents. Fingerprints of the applicant are submitted to appropriate law enforcement agencies and, based on a background check, a decision is made whether to issue a badge.
To ensure conformance with federal standards once implemented, the FUPAC badge meets the requirements of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 and Federal Information Processing Standards 201 issued by the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
The FUPAC system allows port authorities to search biometrically and to match populations of large sizes for identity confirmation. Florida’s statewide solution employs fixed and mobile card readers for the biometric data.
“In support of the evolving federal credentialing program, GE Security’s Identity Commander is already providing Florida ports with a comprehensive solution that supports and manages the issuance of smart cards,” said Dean Seavers, president and CEO of GE Security. “This scalable and interoperable solution works with existing smart cards and is helping better secure Florida’s ports. ”
Typical applications of Identity Commander include the issuance of personal identity verification for federal employees and contractors; the Department of Homeland Security’s TWIC; First Responder Authentication Credential; and the Common Access Card issued by the U.S. Department of Defense.
For more information about Identity Commander, visit http://www.gesecurity.com/.