Following the TWIC deadline of April 15, 2009, SecurityInfoWatch.com caught up with Greg Soule, spokesperson for the Transportation Security Administration, in regards to the Transportation Worker Identification Credential (TWIC) program. As far as ID projects go, this is big. The TWIC card is expected to be carried by over 1 million workers across the U.S. and in some U.S. territories. The goal, ostensibly, is to make sure that no known terrorist radicals are accessing U.S. ports for nefarious purposes. Soule explains more about this program:

SIW: What were the requirements of the April 15, 2009 TWIC deadline? What did workers and facilities need to do for that date?

Soule/TSA: As of April 15, the U.S. Coast Guard began ensuring port workers and mariners nationwide have a new security biometric card known as a TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential). Having a TWIC in hand means the holder received a thorough background check, and is now allowed unescorted access to secure areas of ports and vessels. The card must be presented at the more than 3,200 U.S. maritime facilities and 10,000 vessels from Maine to Guam to gain access. It is a huge win for security to know the folks working at our nation’s ports are not known terrorist threats.

How many workers are now enrolled in TWIC?

More than 1.1 million workers at our nation’s ports have enrolled to date and thousands more are processed each week. The TWIC program has progressed steadily and has more than 150 fixed enrollment centers and has deployed nearly 500 mobile teams nationwide.

Can you estimate roughly what percentage of total workers who should have the card now actually have the card?

We have estimated that 1.2 million workers will need a TWIC card to work in secure areas but there are factors affecting that estimate. The TWIC population is highly mobile and numbers can be affected by many factors including seasonal workers as well as the economy.

Are ports using the TWIC card as more than a flash pass?

At this time, all ports are required to visually inspect TWIC cards as a minimum requirement. Some ports have installed new readers and some have adjusted their legacy systems to electronically enforce the program.

What is being done in terms of tying the TWIC card system into legacy physical access control systems installed in many of our port environments?

TWIC card technology was designed with a lot of flexibility. Some ports have adjusted their legacy systems to be able to read TWICs.