Smart Card News

Thursby Software Systems, provider of two-factor authenticated browsing and email on mobile devices, announced integration with Route1, a technology solutions innovator dedicated to delivering secure data protection technologies and mobility solutions for government, industrial and the enterprise sector.The days of carrying around a laptop to do work while traveling are over. Mobile devices are now able to access emails and crucial websites, which is typically enough to satisfy the needs of even frequent travelers. There are times, however, where access to the local desktop is critical. By partnering together, Thursby Software Systems, Inc.

With their new ferries Fjord Line is the first ferry operator using RFID technology for their cabin locks, setting a new world record, the company reported. They are also the first ferry operator to serve their passengers with contactless RFID boarding control. Carus have taken full project responsibility for providing the software, the handheld RFID scanners and the implementation of the solution that enables Fjord Line passengers to board and disembark using contactless RFID cards.

Limiting the use of Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) smart cards and readers will create significant security vulnerabilities in our maritime infrastructure, the Smart Card Alliance Access Control Council said in comments submitted this week to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Smart Card Alliance’s comments referred to the Coast Guard’s Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) Reader Requirements Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). The rulemaking proposes limiting the use of tamper-resistant, biometrically-enabled TWIC smart cards and readers, and proposes relying on visual inspection of TWIC cards as the primary security protocol for 95% of the maritime user population.

Underwater searchers for treasure, Blue Water Ventures International, Inc., combines with SmartPay Express, Inc. As a result of these transactions, Blue Water Ventures will now be in the business of searching for and recovering historical cultural artifacts, intrinsically valuable cargo and treasure from shipwrecks, primarily in shallow water in the Caribbean and off the coasts of Florida, the business engaged in by Blue Water since 2005. SmartPay Express, Inc.,has changed its name to Blue Water Ventures International, Inc. (the "Company") in anticipation of the exchange of 18,136,500 shares of its common stock for the assets of Blue Water Ventures International, Inc. ("Blue Water).

The Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP) Co-chairmen, CAPT Lee Kincaid and CAPT Robert Sheen, announced the SOCP’s plans for developing SOCP’s Maritime Smart Card pilot project at its October meeting in Norfolk, VA. The pilot project, jointly sponsored by the SOCP and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) and led by SOCP Working Group Chair, CAPT Charles Pillsbury of MITAGS, will use SOCP and MARAD matching funds. The General Services Administration (GSA), experts in smart card technology development, was commissioned to develop a maritime smart card requirements analysis using information and data gathered from joint planning meetings comprised of a cross-section of the maritime industry and the Coast Guard. GSA will also assist with project implementation.

Clearly, the maritime industry is one of the most powerful drivers of international commerce and economic vitality in the world. • The worldwide fleet of marine containers - a transportation cargo unit that can hold up to 500 computer monitors - is nearly 11 million. • The European Union, which is the main trading partner for two thirds of the world, in 2001 exported EUR 981 billion and imported EUR 1,027 billion. • The global ocean-liner shipping industry owns approximately $155 billion in vessels, containers, marine terminals and other direct operating assets now in service around the world. • Almost 16 million Americans work in port-related jobs, producing $210 billion in federal, state and local taxes annually.

Given the sheer enormity and fluidity of the STCW-95 Code, it became abundantly apparent to MITAGS and to our trustee companies that organizations and mariners would need substantial assistance in complying with the Code. Therefore, we began a complete revision to our curriculum, which meant that we would have to commit substantial resources to assist in this effort. The Global Marine Distress Safety System (GMDSS) was an early example of the issues associated with the implementation of STCW-95 Code. Right from the beginning, MITAGS advocated meaningful GMDSS training curriculum standards. MITAGS understood that, in a distress situation, a mariner's best opportunity for survival would be a complete knowledge of GMDSS procedures.

The Port of Corpus Christi received notification of a $2.27 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Congress provided funding for the grant program to the newly created Transportation Security Administration (TSA), now responsible for security. Port Commission Chairman Ruben Bonilla said, “The Port of Corpus Christi applauds Congress’ recognition of seaport security issues. Seaports are a vital asset to the U.S. economy. “ The funds awarded today will be used for security enhancements for the Southside and Northside of the Corpus Christi Ship Channel, known as the Inner Harbor. The Inner Harbor, is one of the port’s most vital economic engines with approximately seven of the port’s major industries,” said Bonilla.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on implementation of smart card technology by federal agencies. It discusses, among other things, plans by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to issue Transportation Worker Identification Credentials (TWICs) to an estimated 6 million workers. GAO-04-948 (HK Law).

The US Coast Guard issued a notice stating that it and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will host a meeting in Washington, DC on November 19 to discuss the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) reader hardware and card application specification. Interested members of the smart card technology community, vendors of biometric card readers, and the general public are invited. After an overview of the TWIC reader hardware and card application specification and TWIC pilot test plans, TSA and Coast Guard representatives will be available to answer questions concerning the specification and pilot. [Source: HK Law]

Administration has adopted a maritime industry specification for the Transportation Worker Identification Credential biometric reader and the contactless smart card. TSA and the Coast Guard selected a recommendation advanced by the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee to require encryption and use of the so-called TWIC privacy key as the working specification for readers. The TWIC privacy key is a scheme advanced by the advisory committee to utilize encryption to protect information on the cards. The TWIC has been in development and testing for at least three years, and in 2006 it was decided that the ID card should conform to the Federal Information Processing Standard 201 for government employees.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the US Coast Guard issued (at last) the final rule implementing Phase One of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The rule, which lays out the process for issuance and initial use of TWIC cards, comes into effect on March 26. Comments on the card replacement fee should be submitted by February 26. The requirement for facilities and OCS facilities to limit unescorted access to secure areas to persons holding valid TWIC cards will come into effect based upon notifications to be published in the Federal Register and will require compliance on a USCG Captain of the Port (COTP) Zone basis.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released an advance copy of the Final Rule for phase one of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. The official copy will be published in the Federal Register shortly. The rule, which lays out the process for issuance and initial use of TWIC cards, comes into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register. Comments on the card replacement fee should be submitted within 30 days after the rule is published in the Federal Register. The requirement for facilities and OCS facilities to limit unescorted access to secure areas to persons holding valid TWIC…

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and the U.S. Coast Guard have taken another step toward the implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) by approving proposed regulations for a biometric-based identification credential for port workers. The notice of proposed rulemaking will be published in the Federal Register in the coming days and lays out specific details on the program. The public will have forty-five days to comment and four public meetings will be hosted by TSA and Coast Guard to solicit public input. • TSA would collect worker's biographic information including ten fingerprints; name; date of birth; address and phone number; alien registration number, if applicable; photo; employer; and job title.

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) released an advance copy (277 pages in length) of its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for implementation of the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) in the maritime sector. Under the proposal, TSA would collect worker’s biographic information (including but not limited to ten fingerprints, name, date of birth, address, telephone number, photo, employer, and job title). All individuals (including US merchant mariners) with unescorted access to secure areas of port facilities and vessels regulated under the Maritime Transportation Security Act would be required to have a TWIC.

The Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP) will hold a meeting on October 16-17, 2002, in Castine, Maine. Agenda highlights include a US Coast Guard Advisory Workshop on the Reengineering of the Marine Licensing and Documentation Program and an SOCP Mariner Administrative Smart Card Project Demonstration

e-Smart Technologies, Inc. announced that its Homeland Defense, Inc., affiliate has reached an agreement with the Port of Beaumont to install the Company's Biometric Verification - Homeland Defense System (BV-HDS(tm)) together with a number of the Company's subsystems including but not limited to the Super Smart Card(tm) identity verification and sure credentialing subsystem, the Robotic Eye(tm) video surveillance and emergency response subsystem and the AutoTrafficCop(tm) port protection subsystem. This agreement is the result of the port security concerns expressed by Texas Congressman Nick Lampson (D - Beaumont) and the cooperation of the Board of Commissioners of the Port of Beaumont as represented by its Executive Director, Chris Fisher, and the diligent work of Ms.

"Any sufficiently advanced technology should be indistinguishable from magic" — Arthur C. As we are swept along in the surge of technology that pervades almost every aspect of our lives, we sometimes take for granted the innovations that intervene in our most complex interactions as well as our most mundane. The passenger shipping industry is no exception: from mooring systems to active stabilizers, Internet access and TV broadcasting ability; technology has 'infiltrated' every area. And these days, with virtually none of the processes undertaken by humans being completed without a technological interface of one form or another, technology has asserted itself as a sort of animated inanimate 'man's best friend'.

Imagine having your picture taken as soon as you board any cruise vessel. While cruise lines have been observing this practice for many years for entertainment purposes, a new kind of photo has since come into play – the high speed interactive photo I.D. Developed by Security Identification Systems Corporation (SISCO), A-Pass (Automated Personnel Assisted Security Screening), provides a picture of each guest – even before boarding the ship – via a kiosk that stores each passengers photo upon insertion of their boarding card. Everyone who boards, even ships’ officers are required to observe this practice, which was presented before a Senate Subcommittee on Capitol Hill on January 9.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) is considering establishing a nationwide transportation worker identification system under which workers in all transportation modes would carry “smart cards” to verify their identity and control their access to vessels and transportation facilities. A DOT team, known as the Credentialing Direct Action Group, of CDAT, briefed industry representatives on the concept at a January 22 briefing at DOT headquarters in Washington, D.C. The CDAG, briefed industry representatives from each of DOT’s operating agencies, including the Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration, as well as the new Transportation Security Administration (TSA).