Port security: Unisys awarded contract from Port Authority of Los Angeles for TWIC collaboration

BLUE BELL, Pa.—Technology services provider Unisys announced today it has been awarded with a three-year biometric ID authentication and access control contract from The Port Authority of Los Angeles that will focus on the Transportation Security Administration’s Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC).

TWIC is a biometric-based ID to be used by port workers to ensure that individuals who pose a security threat do not gain access to secure areas of U.S. ports. The TWIC program is expected to cover approximately 1.5 million workers who require unescorted access to ports, ships, and offshore platforms that are currently regulated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act. This includes port employees, longshoremen, truck drivers, rail workers, and merchant marines, and a TWIC is required for all Coast Guard-credentialed employees by September 25.

Under the terms of the contract between Unisys and the Port Authority of Los Angeles, Unisys will “plan, design, develop, and manage a field test of the new system and help participating operators integrate TWIC-enabled access control systems using a tamper-resistant credential or smart card,” according to a statement. It also noted that this card will include a biometric component comprised of a finger print template and a digital photograph that will seamlessly integrate with each port operator’s access control system and allow port facility security officers to positively identify workers granted access to restricted areas.

Unisys Director of Port and Cargo Security Ted Langhoff told LM that it has been working with the Port of Los Angeles since 2005 as its security advisor in various capacities. This contract was initially sent out by the port in a bid last year and was geared to the TWIC field tests—as mandated by the SAFE Port Act to test access control technologies in real-world marine environments—at the following ports: Los Angeles, Long Beach, Brownsville (Texas), and New York/New Jersey.

“Our involvement…is to help guide the Port of Los Angeles through the [four] different phases of the field tests at three port terminals, and we are working closely with the port, TSA, and local and national Coast Guard offices,” said Langhoff.

The first phase, which Langhoff said is underway, is identifying: where the port currently is in terms of TWIC planning for each of the terminals Unisys is working with; the potential alternatives going forward; and some cost estimates. The next step is putting together high-level design to deploy TWIC-based solutions that have the least amount of negative impact on operations, he explained. Phase I is expected to be completed by the first week in May.

Langhoff explained that rather than looking at TWIC as a “technology project,” TWIC is more of a security and operational project.

“TWIC is part of a layered security measure…that can enhance the overall security of a port, but it can only do so if it fits into the [working] context of port operations,” he said. “You cannot just implement TWIC in a standard, vanilla format across the board without pretty serious consequences to the operation and ultimately the economy, because each port is unique and has different needs and volumes.”

But despite differences among ports, there are similarities—and challenges—when it comes to TWIC, said Langhoff.

One major challenge is that most estimates conclude that there are roughly up to 1.5 million people that need TWIC cards to do their jobs as of September 25, he said. But of those 1.5 million people, a mere 59,607 people (as of press time) actually have TWIC cards.

With so few people actually in possession of a card with slightly more than five months until the deadline, a lot of ground needs to be covered. If TWIC enrollment does not pick up soon, U.S. ports are likely to have some serious operational issues, as well as slow down anticipated progress for the field testing, said Langhoff.

“As we do the field tests, we are not looking to negatively impact port operations or of the participating terminal operators,” he said. “The enrollment numbers are going to have a big effect on the timing of when we start to execute the field tests, because there is no sense in starting and executing the field tests when only five percent of people have TWIC cards…the results that come out [with such a low number] will largely be meaningless.”

Aside from enrollment numbers, another looming TWIC obstacle is a list of technology providers for TWIC card readers. And as of today, there are currently no qualified technology vendors for TWIC, said Langhoff.

“With TWIC, you have the smart card piece and biometric pieces of the equation, so an approved product—or reader—is going to need both capabilities,” he said. “And there has been no ruling yet by the Coast Guard to determine the biometric verification percentage that is going to be required.”

In whatever incarnation TWIC appears, it will have an impact on port operations, he said. And because of this it is important to fully understand the technology options that can be considered and what type of operational impact it will have. This, he said, is a major component of its work with the Port of Los Angeles.

Source:Logistics Management