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| The collaboration will allow airports to issue badges based on regulatory compliance |
Quantum Secure, the leading provider of enterprise software to manage and streamline security identities, access compliance and security intelligence across disparate physical security systems, announces a strategic partnership with the Transportation Security Clearing house (TSC), allowing airports to quickly and easily automate key processes related to issuing badges based on regulatory compliance.
The Transportation Security Clearinghouse (TSC) is a wholly owned, non-profit entity of the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) that operates in partnership with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as a channeling service provider to ensure Security Threat Assessments (STA) and Criminal History Record Checks (CHRC) are completed for aviation workers who require access to the secure areas of airports.
Founded in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks as a public-private partnership, the TSC is the nation's largest civilian clearinghouse, successfully processing 8 million biometric and biographic aviation worker records over the past decade. Most recently, the TSC has developed its Automated Integrated Services, allowing airports to automate their current processes and migrate to biometric solutions as outlined by the airport-driven Biometric Airport Security Identification Consortium (BASIC).
In working with the TSC, Quantum Secure has developed an agent for implementing the BASIC framework that automates the uploading, status and reporting of CHRC/STA checks. Quantum Secure also offers solutions to streamline the enrollment, document management, credential creation and access provisioning processes that surround the central services that the TSC offers. Using the same technology and integration agent, Quantum Secure facilitates the registration, results and management of AAAE's customised Interactive Employee Training (IET) system which is utilised by more than 80 airports across the United States.
"As the nation's largest civilian clearinghouse, processing over half a million biometrically-based Criminal History Records Checks in the last year alone, we are happy to be working closely with Quantum Secure to help airports streamline their security operations and maintain compliance with the latest TSA regulations," said Colleen Chamberlain, Staff Vice President, Transportation Security Policy.
The Quantum Secure SAFE for Airports solution is a Commercial Off the Shelf Software (COTS) application, allowing airports to simplify and automate the complex challenges of enrolling an airport worker into their security infrastructure. All processes surrounding enrollment of an identity, including the acquisition of all biometric and biographic data and I-9 documentation, is accomplished through Quantum Secure's SAFE browser-based software application and propagated to the TSC for verification and background checks. The issuance of an access credential and administration of restricted-area access becomes streamlined, allowing airports to perpetually comply with all mandated audit reporting and compliance requirements.
SAFE allows for existing systems to transform into a centralised identity and credential management tool, enabling airport security practitioners to:
- Connect in real time to the TSC, automating the submission of biometric and biographic identity data for validation of Criminal History Record Check (CHRC) and retrieval of Security Threat Assessment (STA) results
- Utilise the airport's existing security infrastructure to create a browser- or web-based centralised credential management system
- Provide a sophisticated rules-based workflow engine to streamline security operations with the ability to view, manage and control credential enrolment
- Provision and revoke access privileges from an airport's centralised database
- Automate security reporting across a single or multiple systems including biometrics and physical access control systems (regardless of brand) for centralised auditing and reporting
An early adopter of the BASIC program, San Francisco International Airport (SFIA) has utilised the Quantum Secure SAFE for Airports platform to streamline operations and integrate to the TSC fully as part of the BASIC effort. A category X airport that handles over 40-million passengers each year, SFIA has been exempt from several of the manual STA reports required per the TSA regulations and has realised great efficiencies and operational cost savings.
"We are extremely excited regarding our partnership with the TSC," said Laurie Aaron, Vice President of Business Development for Quantum Secure. "We have proven to help airports take advantage of the TSC's Automated Integrated Services and look to the future as defined by the BASIC Concept of Operations, resulting in significant cost reductions and laying the foundation for a perpetual compliance strategy for airports. By automating all processes connected to identity vetting, credentialing and access provisioning, airports can be more efficient than ever before while maintaining compliance with all TSA regulations surrounding airport worker identity verification."
