Verifying Frequent Visitors
Apr 1, 2005 12:00 PM, BY MICHAEL FICKES
The suicide bombing attack on the U.S. Army dining facility in Mosul, Iraq, last December highlighted the need for secure access control for civilian workers entering military and government installations.
The Mosul bombing killed 22 people including 14 U.S. service members, four U.S. civilian contractors, three members of Iraqi security forces, and one unidentified non-U.S. person. While the investigation continues, one theory suggests that the suicide bomber entered the base by posing as a civilian worker.
“It is no longer enough to visually inspect ID cards and expect that people are who they claim to be,” says Pete Huller, a project manager with the Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Manpower Data Center (DMDC) in Seaside, Calif.
Huller notes that a host of methods can control access to military camps, posts and stations. These include the Real-Time Automated Personnel Identification System (RAPIDS), the Common Access Card (CAC) and others.
But what about people that deliver packages, food and other products and services to bases every day? These people do not fall into the categories covered by CAC or RAPIDS cards, nor are they visitors that need access one or two days a year. A UPS or FedEx delivery person might require access to an installation several times a day on a weekly basis.
DMDC has developed an access control solution for this problem called the Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS). While most DoD access control systems function across the Department, DBIDS can be set up and controlled by individual installations.
“DBIDS is for non-DoD-affiliated personnel requiring recurring, unescorted access to an installation,” Huller says. “The FedEx person, for example, has to get on the base and doesn't have time to go through a lengthy sign in process. For this kind of access need, law enforcement at the base can do a background check, deem the person worthy of unescorted access, and issue a DBIDS card.
DBIDS provides an identity verification system for use at access control points at military installations. It uses a client-server configuration, which operates over the installation's local area network or on a separate network. As individuals enroll, name and identification data — including fingerprints and a photo — flow to the database server. In turn, the server populates client databases at the access control points — the front gate for example. The scalable system can deal with installations of all sizes, from a single building to a theater of operations.
At the entrance or gate to a facility, a guard asks everyone for an ID card. Those without cards must undergo an interview and search. RAPIDS and CAC cardholders are processed normally. For DBIDS cardholders, the guard checks the photo on the card and scans a bar code on the card with a handheld device. The scan brings up the individual's DBIDS file from the local database. The guard presses a button on the handheld to activate a fingerprint feature, and the individual places his finger on a pad at the base of the device.
In cases where fingerprints are difficult to capture, DBIDS can switch to accommodate hand geometry biometrics.
Depending on current alert levels at particular installations, the biometric checks can be used or not.
DBIDS can respond quickly to changes in access privileges. Not long ago, at the Presidio of Monterey in California, officials received an application to renew a civilian's DBIDS card. The background check revealed that an arrest warrant had been issued for the person. The investigating officer altered the person's status to “wanted” in the database. This information went to the appropriate access point, where the person was arrested the next day.
DBIDS can work with other systems to speed traffic moving into an installation. “Picture a scenario where a queue of 500 or more vehicles waits to get through the gate during rush hour in the morning, with up to 40 guards checking ID cards,” Huller says. “This picture represents a high-value terrorist target.”
While DBIDS can move this level of traffic through a checkpoint on its own, it can move even faster in combination with RFID tags placed on windshields.
According to Huller, DBIDS now operates worldwide, throughout U.S. military installations in Korea, Europe and Kuwait. Ft. Polk in Louisiana and Ft. Hood in Texas are currently bringing DBIDS online. “DBIDS has become the largest physical access control system and the largest use of biometrics in the DoD,” Huller says.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2008 Penton Media Inc.
Story Missing Your Link?
Is the above story missing a link? Is it missing a link to your company, or your website? If this is the case please e-mail us and we'll add the link as soon as possible. Thank you!
advertisement
