New biometric group to concentrate on travelers-related issues

Published 12 January 2006

As if we didn’t have enough trade associations in Washington, D.C.… but this one, to advise the government on travel-related biometric issues, may actually be useful

A newly formed coalition of biometric and access-control companies was launched earlier this week to advise the government on large public-credentialing programs such as the Registered Traveler system of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The group, called the Voluntary Credentialing Industry Coalition (VCIC), will be led by Wexler & Walker vice chairman Tom Blank. Its members include ARINC, ImageWare Systems, Iridian Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Panasonic, GE Security, Saflink, and Verified Identity Pass. There are already several trade associations representing the security and biometrics industries. VCIC will focus on voluntary credentialing programs and related issues of consumer privacy and data theft. “What we’re trying to address is the public policy component,” Blank said. “We expect to have an impact on a full range of federal credentialing” projects.

-read more in Randy Barrett’s National Journal Daily Technology report