by Eric Holdeman: Port Security in the blogosphere
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GAO recently issued a report on the Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) and the biometric readers that are supposed to fielded within the transportation field. See TRANSPORTATION WORKER IDENTIFICATION
If this were a thriller the villain would be the TWIC card and its side kick the biometric reader. The Feds continue to press on, but I think when Congress gets to the hearing process there will be a real problem because the advocates for the TWIC reader are far and few between.
If the biometric readers do crash and burn it will leave us with a very expensive "flash pass" form of identification.
The next chapter in the saga will be coming soon.
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At long last we will have the opportunity to review the Final TWIC Rule. AAPA put out a notice yesterday
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This is a project that I've been proud to be associated with. See the Port Security Social Media Project's about page for general information, and then poke around the site to get more details on what this new mobile app is going to be able to do for port security in particular and emergency management in general.
When the application is officially launched I'll give you the background on how it came about and the partner involvement.
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While it is not published yet in the Federal Register, the OMB Announced Approval of the TWIC Reader NPRM This information was in the Chemical Facility Security News blog and shared by Don Bruce.
It is an interesting coincidence that the FFY13/Round 13 grant guidance might "maybe" be coming out about the same time as the final rule. More likely the grant guidance will come later. To get your projects in on time will require a sprint to do cost estimates and see if you can accomplish the installation of readers within the new two year time constraint that is expected for Port Security Grants. Or, I suppose folks may wait for the final rule to be published and approved before doing anything on biometric TWIC readers.
One thing for sure, every grant year the feds make it an interesting process. Ports and marine terminals are like folks at the end of the line when playing "whiplash" on roller skates or ice skates. The big impact comes to the people on the tail!
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In the world of marketing and pitching your ideas and services the infographic has come forward as one way to quickly provide information in an easily discernible manner. This form of communication is ideal for posters and other "quick read" formats that dominate how people want to digest information these days.
Long paragraphs and a lack of pictures or graphics is a sure way to eliminate anyone from wanting to read what you have to say on a topic.
So check out this The Activity & Security of U.S. Ports infographic. Nothing spectacular about it other than it is a quick read and good highlights you might need for your next security or port presentation. Better than a bunch of bullet points on a PowerPoint!
Shaun Walker shared the link.
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I was poking around looking for a specific course offered by the Department of Homeland Security. You can see their training list at Commercial Facilities Sector Training and Resources
Instead of finding what I was looking for I came across a PowerPoint briefing from one our nation's Protective Security Advisors (PSA). Check it out at Securing the Nation Nation’s critical infrastructures one community at a time
It is about four years old, but it does a nice job of showing how everything fits together at the Federal level down to the role of the Protective Security Advisor. Every state has one designated. If you don't know yours be sure and make an appointment to meet with him or her.
Dave Holcomb is Washington State's.
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There was much ado about the recent announcement that there is a Chinese military unit that has been probing and robbing information from American companies. See the Washington Post story at Report ties cyberattacks on U.S Computer to Chinese military
While port security has traditionally been about physical security our sights need to expand to these electronic threats that are not going away. As security systems become more tied to technology we become more vulnerable to a different type of threat. Most modern security systems are now IP based and that makes them a potential target for disruption. This vulnerability includes access control systems and digital cameras.
We need a close alliance with our IT departments and the expertise they bring to the table. Additionally, as systems are transitioned to the digital world our staff need to understand what they can do as individuals to protect the systems that are protecting critical infrastructure.
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When you look in the mirror what do you see? The perspective of the person with the eyes is what counts. It may change with age, experience or interests. So too, how people and organizations view the Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) may depend on where they are coming from and what it means to their bottom line.
I know from talking to people who have to install and operate TWIC biometric systems that the road to TWIC implementation has taken too long and is not considered a "success" by the end users of the "new and improved security system." A identification system may be needed, but the effectiveness of the system and the cost to implement are appropriate considerations.
Having said that there are others who are strong proponents of TWIC and other security identification systems. Such as the International Biometrics & Identification Association (IBIA). IBIA is a non-profit trade group that advocates and promotes the responsible use of technologies for managing human identity. It fulfills its mission through advocacy, education and outreach. For more information on them visit www.ibia.org
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One of the good things about blogging is that I get feedback in the way of comments and emails from readers based on what I write. Sometimes they provide different points of view, clarifications or counter points--all of which is good. Today I did get a comment on the Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) blog posting I did earlier, see Is TWIC Almost Dead? Which prompted LCDR Greg Callaghan, TWIC Implementation Branch, U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters to email me with the "official" status. See his comments below:
I was reading your blog today and just wanted to follow up and clarify the current status of the TWIC Reader Rulemaking. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) was accepted at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in the middle of November and is currently under their review. During this review timeframe, OMB addresses their questions/concerns with the Coast Guard and DHS. As per the Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions, updated in December of 2012, it is currently anticipated that the NPRM will be published by March of 2013 [Note this is six months earlier than what I had heard.] Following the publication of the NPRM, there will be a public comment period to include public meetings in order for the Coast Guard to develop the Final Rule which could be published before 2014 and followed by an implementation period.
Thanks to LDCR Callaghan for the follow-up and for the Coast Guard in monitoring social media! It still looks to me that we won't be required to have biometric readers until sometime in 2016, if then.
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See the article $420 million TSA program doesn't work which sums up many of the issues with the Transportation Worker Identification Card (TWIC) and also announces that the Department of Defense (DOD) is not going to continue accepting the credential for its purposes (which are not detailed in the article).
On Monday I found out that the final ruling for TWIC that is supposed to be issued by the U.S. Coast Guard is now not not due out until October of this year/2013. That means the comment period would extend well into 2014 and adoption of the final rule would be in late 2014 or 2015. Another long delay!
TWIC has been in trouble from the start with few supporters. Many organizations from unions to industry have not been enthusiastic about the program. This ruling from DOD could be the nail in the coffin for TWIC. However, the only thing harder than starting a Federal program is stopping one.
With money tight this is the type of program that elected officials may want to kill outright. It after all has many detractors and only a few supporters.
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