New tool validates ID credentials wirelessly
Connecting state and local government leaders
Two companies team up to offer an identity verification tool for federal employees and federal contractors.
Two companies, Axway and MaxID, are jointly producing an identity verification tool that works on handheld mobile devices.
The tool helps organizations verify worker credentials in secure facilities, representatives of the two companies said. Use of the device helps organizations comply with federal mandates such as Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 and the Transportation Security Administration’s Transportation Worker Identification Credential system card.
HSPD-12 calls for the rollout of a personal identification verification card system for federal employees as well as employees of federal contractors for access to government facilities. The TWIC program is a credentialing program for transportation workers to improve security of the nation’s ports, vessels and merchant mariners.
“Barring unauthorized individuals from sensitive areas is essential, but more difficult to roll out than one might imagine,” said Taher Elgamal, chief security officer for Axway. “In addition, more intelligent credentialing involving biometrics is also under discussion in Washington, D.C., making the landscape even harder to navigate. With this as backdrop, government entities and organizations interacting with the government must come up with a secure and reliable method to determine if an individual is authorized to be in a particular area,” he said.
The product combines Axway’s Validation Authority Suite, which authorizes the validation status of digital certification, and MaxID’s handheld iDL500 mobile computer. The combination results in a WiFi-enabled tool that can read TWIC and PIV cards to process and validate credentials.
“When you’re out in the field, you need to have real-time access to processing capabilities so you can ascertain an individual’s identity and clearance to access a secure area,” said Brian Skiba, president of MaxID.
For more information, see www.axway.com and www.maxidcorp.com.
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