| Profile
The mission of the National Biometric Security Project [NBSP] is to help government and private sector organizations protect the civil infrastructure by deterring attacks through the timely deployment of biometric technologies for identity assurance. NBSP, a non-profit organization, was established after the events of 9/11 with the support of the US Congress. NBSP widely supports government and private sector efforts to standardize, test, acquire, and deploy biometric technology; and to do so in an environment compatible with rational social objectives in preserving individual privacy and civil liberties.
NBSP has established the Biometric Services International, LLC (BSI) in Morgantown, West Virginia to provide long-term structure and specialized facilities for mission execution. The BSI mission and function is to organize, host, and perform all services offered by the NBSP (and described further below) in both a home and deployed environment, for government and private sector organizations. The BSI, early in its formation, was the site for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) e-passport interoperability testing session. Tests were conducted under the auspices of the DHS US-VISIT program to test the interoperability of e-passports and passport readers.
TEST SERVICES
The NBSP testing programs, exclusively focused on biometrics, are designed to meet stringent requirements in the objective test and evaluation of commercially available biometric products, as well as technology not yet in the production stage. Within this program, three classes of tests are included which: provide an assessment of a product's ability to meet basic performance requirements, common to all biometric technologies, for service in civil infrastructure security applications (Class I); determine the ability of a product or technology to comply with standards approved for biometrics (Class II); and respond to specific client needs for specialized tests in any aspect of biometric use (Class III).
Class I tests will result in a general list of biometric products qualified to meet the stringent, but basic, criteria expected for homeland security applications, and reduce the risk and complexity of biometric product purchase decisions. To address this need, NBSP has developed a set of public protocols for evaluation, on a pass/fail basis, of both biometric hardware and software products. When successfully tested, products will be entered on a Qualified Products List (QPL).
Class II testing will provide independent, third-party certification that products conform to standard(s) of choice that apply to that product. Only standards that are applicable to the product, and have an approved conformance test capability will be used in the QPL process.
Class III testing is wide-ranging, is based on client specifications, and can include such diverse projects as tests of new technology capabilities as well as countermeasure effectiveness testing.
TRAINING SERVICES
NBSP conducted an extensive analysis of biometric community needs to determine what form of training program users, operators, and practitioners would find most beneficial. NBSP then developed curriculum to fill identified gaps in available biometric training with two new biometric training courses: (1) A Introduction to Biometrics course for general familiarity in the technology; and (2) a more technically focused biometric Fundamentals course for users, operators, and biometric technicians and practitioners. In 2006, Training Services at tBSI plans to develop a third course for certification of technical installation, support and maintenance of biometric products
EDUCATION
NBSP helped establish the foundation for Educational Biometric Centers of Excellence designed to help universities to design/implement biometric programs consistent with Government/Industry needs. As part of this initiative NBSP is very supportive of the activities of the Biometric Education Working Group (BEWG). The primary objective of BEWG is to propose a Biometric Curriculum prototype as a prelude to certification of Programs of Excellence in Biometrics at institutions of higher learning.
RESEARCH AND SUPPORT SERVICES
The BSI will also host the NBSP's research and development projects. The objective of the applied research program is to support: (1) improvements in the performance and integration of available and proven technology; (2) improvement in the resistance to threats against the technology by development of effective countermeasures; (3) examination of new technology for application in infrastructure protection, and (4) assessment of the social impact of technology application on the general population.
In regard to the issue of social impact, NBSP recently researched and prepared two comprehensive reports which assess the use of biometrics under current U.S. Federal laws , as well as a related examination of such use under international laws on privacy and personal data. NBSP also developed a definitive Protocol for the Collection, Use, Dissemination, and Storage of Biometric Data to comply with U.S. Law.
Since its inception NBSP has worked closely with the U.S. Federal Government and international community to advance research and policy initiatives on vital matters such as the deployment of biometric-enabled e-Passports. NBSP has provided test facilities to the Department of Homeland Security for this initiative, and has produced an important assessment of how the new travel documents can secure and facilitate the international travel system.
Requirements
A key factor in evaluating the development or deployment of biometric technology as the identity assurance component of a security or risk management system is a clear definition of requirements. Some of the elements of a thorough requirements definition include operational requirements surveys or audits, interoperability issues, application impact analyses, and examination of operating limitations. As a non-profit enterprise NBSP is structured to be a trusted advisor in the development and documentation of requirements as the precursor to: promulgation of standards; development of products and technology; drafting of performance specifications for acquisition and deployment; or any other design and application objective.
Standards Development
As a continuing part of its commitment to full development of the technology, NBSP devotes significant resources to the development of international standards for application, deployment, integration, performance, and interoperability of biometric products. Since 2003, approximately 20% of NBSP funding and labor effort has been invested in this important activity. Our focus has been on accelerating existing work in both domestic and international bodies and supporting any gaps in critical requirements. NBSP support has helped triple the number of published biometric standards from 10 to 33; increased the number of emerging standards to 56; funded the development of software products for NIST conformance test suites ; and supported organizations like the ILO in developing specific products such as the Seafarer's Identity Card.
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