View non-flash version
The TWIC Program was started by the Transportation Se- curity Administration (TSA) in December 2001 in response to the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, which di- rected TSA to work with airports to enhance their access control and to consider how biometric technologies could help positively identify those seeking access to secure ar- eas of airports. Late the following year saw enactment of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002 (MTSA), which mandated issuance of a biometric transportation se- curity card to control unescorted access to the secure areas of MTSA-regulated vessels and facilities. TSA then decid- ed to focus the TWIC Program on implementing the MTSA mandate. While TSA is responsible for the development and issuance of the credential, as well as evaluation of card read- ers, the US Coast Guard is the enforcement agency in the maritime sector. A STANDARD CREDENTIAL? As originally conceived, TWIC would be a standard cre- dentialfor 10-15 million workers in all modes of transporta- tion. It would minimize redundant credentialing and back- ground checks, and its encoded data would be compared to a facility?s local data base to determine a worker?s authority to enter a given secure area. Sadly, it hasn?t worked out that way and it isn?t likely that it will. The original TWIC vision has not come to pass because the Program has not been fully implemented as yet. It won?t come to pass because future implementation will diverge from the original model and because some state port author- ities will still conduct their own background checking and badging systems, using their own criteria, to target concerns such as cargo theft and drug smuggling. In the face of numerous objections to the reader require- ments proposed in 2006, the decision was made to Þ rst is- sue regulations requiring a TWIC as a credential for gaining unescorted access to MTSA secure areas, and to deal subse- quently with requirements for biometric access control tech- nologies to con Þ rm the identity of the card holder. Shortly after this, the SAFE Ports Act of 2006 became law and with SSecurity 3 R U W 6 H F X U L W \ These TWICs Arent for Kids by John C.W. Bennett The year 2012 marks the Þ fth anniversary of the Þ rst general issuance of the Transportation Work- er Identi Þ cation Credentials (TWICs), as well as the time for the Þ rst recipients to renew their cards. So it?s an appropriate time to review the TWIC Program?where?s it been and where?s it going?In the TWIC credentialing rulemaking of January 2007, TSA and the Coast Guard estimated the 10-year implementation cost to government and the private sector at between $694 million and $3.2 billion. And those estimates dont include any costs associated with implementing TWIC reader requirements. U.S. Coast Guard illustration by Petty Of Þ cer 1st Class NyxoLyno Cangemi 24 | Maritime Professional |1Q 2012
