More than a year after the Transportation Security Administration launched the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program, the market continues to wonder how and when it will fully leverage the biometric data contained inside these TWIC credentials.

TWIC cards are smart cards rich with security features and contain a dual interface integrated circuit chips, a magnetic stripe, and a linear bar code. Yet many of these cards today are only being used as a mere "flash pass." They are visually inspected to see if the photo matches the card holder and to determine if the card itself is authentic before permitting card holders access to highly secure properties and vessels regulated by the Maritime Transportation Security Act.

The reason that many of these TWIC cards have continued to be used as flash passes is that the TSA has yet to begin Phase Two of the TWIC program, where it may mandate that facilities use biometric readers to verify that the electronic biometric information stored within the TWIC matches that of the cardholder.

It's true that much of the market continues to use the TWIC card as a very basic form of identification and the reasons for this are simple. First, facilities don't know that grant money is available through the Department of Homeland Security to fund the purchase and implementation of biometric readers as part of the TWIC program. Second, facilities continue to wait for the TSA to issue a ruling about biometric reader technology to identify approved mobile and fixed reader devices.

Verifying TWIC: It can be done

Today, the TSA continues to test various biometric card reader technologies, but has not announced any formal mandates, a timeline for implementation or specific funding details. But it's a misnomer to think that no one is using the TWIC card beyond its flash pass status.

In fact, there are several forward-thinking organizations that have recently taken the initiative and implemented a TWIC credential validation program, enabling them to truly access the data and high security features inside these cards.

The Port of Wilmington, Delaware; The Jacksonville Port Authority and Marathon Oil are a few examples of facilities that implemented a TWIC credential validating program. These organizations, which operate ports and a petrochemical facility, are governed by the Maritime Transportation Security Act due to their location on our waterways, and could have waited for the TSA to make its decision regarding biometric card reading technology. Instead the organizations decided to take full advantage of the TWIC cards by deploying software that can read, validate, authenticate and register the TWIC card into their PACS database, and then continue to re-validate the TWIC by daily checking of the TSA hotlist Some locations also deployed fixed biometric TWIC readers at exterior gates.