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West Virginia: The Biometric State
by Maureen Sirhal
As the federal government grows increasingly interested in new identification technologies to combat terrorism, one state is aggressively striving to become the biometrics capital of the world.
"For a whole lot of reasons, biometrics began to be something our state got involved in several years ago," West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise told attendees at the Biometrics Consortium conference in Arlington, Va., on Monday. But the environment after last year's terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania "escalated" that involvement, he said.
With the help of the state's congressional delegation, West Virginia has grown into a biometrics research hub. The Defense Department chose the state for its biometrics fusion project and helped launch a biometrics security project in Morgantown. The initiatives focus on developing new applications for biometrics -- technologies that identify people by features such as fingerprints and eyes -- to secure the civil national infrastructure, Wise said.
"In the high-tech 21st century, the role is different," he said. "States rely on universities to provide research for startup businesses and to educate citizens in new technologies."
He outlined how partnerships among state universities, research facilities and the federal government, as well as the efforts of state lawmakers, have helped propel West Virginia to the forefront of biometrics technology development.
West Virginia University (WVU) in Morgantown and Marshall University in Huntington provide key research. The Defense Department has established a relationship with WVU's Center for Identification Technology Research. Developed along with Marshall, Michigan State University and San Jose State University, it serves as a major biometrics research center.
State policymakers recognize the need for economic incentives to help encourage growth in new businesses, Wise said. With a recent $9 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the state is revitalizing export programs, he added, and a large portion of that initiative is focused on promoting biometrics projects.
Last year, West Virginia also appropriated $2 million for university faculty to pursue new biometrics research. The projects selected for funding include a new biometrics knowledge center at WVU and a DNA testing facility at Marshall. Wise said the state is planning to sponsor a major biometrics forum Dec. 6 in Morgantown.
California Laws Target Internet Fraud, ID Theft
California is getting tougher on identity theft, as Gov. Gray Davis on Wednesday signed a series of measures that aim to bolster the rights for victims of that crime, ease the ability of law enforcement groups to curb online ID theft and fraud, and prevent state agencies from issuing false identifications. The bills that Davis signed include:
- A.B. 1155, which creates fines up to $25,000 for people convicted of a felony for conspiring to commit identity theft.
- A.B. 1773, which subjects ID thieves to punishment in the jurisdiction where the theft occurs and where the information is used illegally.
- S.B. 1239, which mandates that credit-reporting agencies allow victims of ID theft to block fraudulent information about them and that the agencies provide the consumers with free credit reports once a month for up to 12 consecutive months.
- S.B. 1259, which creates new penalties for the possession or destruction of devices that intend to re-encode information contained on payment cards.
- S.B. 1980, which eases state law enforcement's ability to search Internet service providers' records related to certain high-tech crimes. The bill establishes state procedures, similar to those in federal law, for gathering records from providers of electronic communication services or remote computing services.
- A.B. 2191, which would ban pharmaceutical companies from disclosing their consumers' medical information without consent.
- S.B. 1386, which requires state agencies that maintain computer data with personal information to disclose to the impacted citizens any security breaches of that data.
- S.B. 1614, which would halt the sale of birth and death data by state agencies and mandate that the state registrar create a separate, non-comprehensive indices of birth and death data for public release and for law enforcement use or fraud prevention.
Texas Launches Homeland Security Initiatives
Texas policymakers have launched a new Web portal for disseminating homeland security information and enabling citizens to report suspected terrorist activities.
Gov. Rick Perry unveiled the site last week, fulfilling a recommendation by the state's homeland security task force. The site provides information on emergency planning and links to other state homeland defense initiatives.
The state also has begun implementing other task force recommendations. The Texas Department of Information Resources formed a group whose mission is to review and enhance computer security across state agencies. Perry also has awarded $1.2 million in grants for training "first responders" to emergencies and a $500,000 grant to help establish the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Southwest Texas State University.
The Texas Education Agency has established a Web-based system to deliver emergency alerts to school districts. And the state has received several federal grants to increase security, including $51.4 million for healthcare preparedness, $40.8 million for border-inspection facilities and $36.7 million for airport improvements.
Washington Automates Fingerprint System
The Washington State Patrol has procured new technology to automate the process of obtaining fingerprints and to increase the accuracy and efficiency of the state's fingerprint repository.
The new project, dubbed the Live-Scan to Automated Fingerprint Identification System Connection (AFIS), will link the state repository for storing criminal fingerprints with local scanning systems. It will enable local law enforcement officials to scan fingerprints and cross-reference them with information contained in the state's records.
If a suspect is positively identified, the information will be forwarded to the FBI and compared with data in its AFIS. The one-year project, funded with a federal grant, began last Oct. 1.
State Lobbying Forces Head To Washington
U.S. mayors will be visiting Capitol Hill on Thursday, pressing for more federal funding of homeland security initiatives and attention to other state issues.
Meanwhile, the North Carolina Electronics and Information Technology Association traveled to Washington this week to meet with the state's delegation and tech officials in the Bush administration. The group scheduled meetings with: John Marburger, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; FCC Commissioner Kevin Martin; Steve Cunin, deputy commissioner of patents; and Lynn Beresford, deputy commissioner of trademarks at the Patent and Trademark Office.
The Northern Virginia Technology Council (NVTC) also is urging its members to submit comments on the White House's recently released draft of the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace. Comments are due by Nov. 18. And NVTC announced this week that Virginia Gov. Mark Warner will deliver the keynote address to at the group's annual fall banquet Oct. 29.
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