TSA - Securing United States Transportation Systems

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), formed immediately following the tragedies of Sept. 11, is an agency and component of the United States Department of Homeland Security and is responsible for security of the nation's transportation systems.

With state, local and regional partners, the TSA oversee security for the highways, railroads, buses, mass transit systems, ports and the 450 United States airports. The agency employs approximately 50,000 people from Alaska to Puerto Rico to ensure your travels - by plane, train, automobile or ferry - are safe and secure.

The TSA uses layers of security to ensure the security of the traveling public and the nation's transportation system:

"TSA's mission is to protect the nation's transportation systems while facilitating the movement of people and commerce. We recognize the importance of physical screening to the security of our aviation network, and our risk-based strategy includes innovations and investments in training, workforce deployment, and technology. At the same time, we are committed to a strategy that goes far beyond physical screening. It begins with intelligence gathered by multiple U.S. agencies that is analyzed, shared, and applied. It includes checking every passenger manifest against terror watch lists and observing behaviors and activities in the airport environment. And, finally, it includes a law enforcement presence in airports and on aircraft, and a partnership with airlines, airports, pilots, flight crew members, and the traveling public - all of whom are committed to stopping terrorists in their tracks."

TSA Administrator Kip Hawley
Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on
Commerce, Science and Transportation
April 4, 2006

The above information has been extrapolated from the TSA Website, click here for more information about the administration.

The Bioscrypt Advantage

Bioscrypt's V-Station MIFARE V9.50 has been approved by the TSA and placed on their "Biometrics for Access Control" Qualified Products List (QPL). Products placed on the QPL can be used by airports to authenticate employees for applications such as securing access to restricted areas. The TSA conducted pre-qualification tests on a number of products, several of which then were operationally tested with the help of the International Biometric Group (IBG). IBG did a number of performance tests, including checking for speed, accuracy and the false accept and reject rates. Two hundred users were enrolled on the V-Station MIFARE and were asked to verify themselves on the fingerprint reader three or four times a day. Of the seven products that were operationally tested, the V-Station MIFARE was one of only two products for Physical Access Control that received approval. Two other sensor level components were approved.

The fingerprint reader can significantly increase security at airports while keeping access control procedures simple. Bioscrypt's multi-factor authentication V-Station solution can use a combination of: who a person is (their fingerprint pattern); what they have (smart card token) and what they know (personal identification number) in order to verify that employees are who they claim to be. The readers check templates stored on MIFARE smart cards against airport employees' fingerprints to conduct a 1:1 match.

Today, Bioscrypt fingerprint readers are being used by many airports around the world to enhance passenger safety. For more information on our airport deployments in the United States and around the world, contact us or read the following knowledge bank resources:

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