The U.S. Coast Guard is in the process of issuing a regulation that would require all ports to implement some kind of mobile card reader to verify the validity of Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) cards presented by those seeking unescorted access to secure areas of ports. The program was established in 2002 as part of the Maritime Transportation Security Act following the findings of a presidential commission charged with determining ways to secure the nation’s ports.
The port is evaluating how well the company’s IM2700 TWIC reader checks the various security features of the credential program, identifying the features the device does validate and how long verification takes, and the durability of the reader in the field. “We haven’t had any issues with the readers,” said Joe Lawless, director of maritime security for the Massachusetts Port Authority. “They seem to be operating as advertised.”
The readers are in place at the terminal’s main entrance where they are part of the facility’s access control system that includes visual and electronic checks of identification cards presented by people seeking access to the port.
In part because of weaknesses identified in the TWIC issuance process by a recent report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Massachusetts Port Authority requires workers seeking access to the port to obtain a unique credential, called a Massport ID, using a TWIC card and another form of government-issued identification. “We don’t use the TWIC right now as an access credential,” Lawless said. “We use it as a baseline document to apply for the Massport ID.”
The Massport ID is the primary credential that controls access to the port. However, workers are still required to possess their TWIC cards at the port. This allows the port to test the reader and still ensure the additional security provided by the Massport ID.
Lawless said TWIC cards contain a number of security features, such as biometrics, that the port hasn’t been able to leverage yet. “When the technology and the specifications finally come out and are finally deployed in the field,” he said, “you’re going to have the ability to leverage all of those security features that are contained in that smart card to verify the person’s ID.”
Lawless expects that the card readers would change the port’s concept of operations once the U.S. Coast Guard issues its final guidance and implementation begins. According to the federal government’s report, a notice of proposed rulemaking for the implementation of electronic card readers is expected in late 2011. The final rule is expected to be released as early as the end of 2012.
The Massachusetts Port Authority already has some money set aside for the procurement of the card readers. Lawless hopes to combine the best features of the Intellicheck Mobilisa reader and any other readers the port tests into specifications for a competitive procurement.
Intellicheck Mobilisa’s IM2700 TWIC reader was included on a list of readers that meet the requirements of the Transportation Security Administrations’ initial capabilities evaluation as of the end of July.
