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GCN Home > 02/18/08 issue

Registry could help set biometric standard

GCN Insider

By William Jackson

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has released a draft registry of biometric standards that could improve sharing of data between agencies.

The Registry of USG Recommended Biometric Standards (GCN.com, Quickfind 967) was developed by the interagency Subcommittee on Biometrics and Identity Management of the White House National Science and Technology Council (NSTC).

Comments should be e-mailed to standards@biometrics.gov by March 10 and will be reviewed by the NSTC Technology Committee.

The registry supplements an earlier document, the NSTC Policy for Enabling the Development, Adoption and Use of Biometric Standards. The policy is an attempt to establish agreement on interagency standards so biometric systems will be interoperable.

The subcommittee did not formulate new standards but developed the list through a consensus of 15 agencies participating in the process. They evaluated what the subcommittee called the “numerous, often contradictory standards currently available.”

The goal is for data gathered and saved by one agency to be accessible by other agencies through the use of common formats and processes.

The registry includes recommended standards for data collection, storage and exchange; transmission profiles; identifying government employees and contractors; plug-and-play equipment; and conformance and performance testing methodology.

More news on related topics: Authentication / Identity Management, Content / Record Management, Data Management, Workflow / Collaboration



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