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Background of the US Government's Biometric Consortium
The Biometric Consortium held its first meeting in October 1992 under the chairmanship of Dr. Benincasa. Since then, the Consortium has been meeting one to two times per year to provide a forum for information exchange on biometric-based personal identification/authentication technology among the Government, industry, and academia. In 1994, Dr. Campbell and Ms. Alyea took over as chair and vice chair, respectively. In that year, Dr. Campbell and Ms. Alyea have obtained formal approval of the Biometric Consortium's charter. 

CHARTER

The Biometric Consortium's charter was formally approved on December 7, 1995 by the Facilities Protection Committee, a committee that reports to the Security Policy Board through the Security Policy Forum. The Security Policy Board was established by Presidential Decision Directive/NSC-29 on September 16, 1994 for the coordination, formulation, evaluation, and oversight of US national security policy. The Security Policy Board reports to the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, who is currently Mr. Anthony Lake. The following is the text of the Biometric Consortium's charter as approved by the Facilities Protection Committee:

Charter
7 December 1995

The Biometric Consortium (hereafter referred to as the Consortium) is chartered by the National Security Policy Board through the Facilities Protection Committee.

BACKGROUND

Since 1992, a working group known as the Biometric Consortium has been meeting to share information and advice and to serve as the focal point for coordinating and developing advanced biometric processing, testing, and evaluation techniques within the US Government. The Consortium is presently comprised of representatives from six executive departments of the US Government and each of the Military Services. A goal of the Consortium is to develop an independent assessment facility to evaluate and test evolving biometric devices. The National Security Agency initiated the formation of the Consortium as part of its Information Systems Security mission, with a goal to increase the availability of biometric authentication and identification to meet the needs of the Department of Defense and other Federal agencies. Towards that goal, the NSA has invested personnel resources and funds to provide organizational and administrative support to the Consortium. The Consortium has been, and continues to be, the US Government's primary source of technical information for biometric considerations. Because of the increasing interest of the Consortium members to apply biometrics to a wide range of Government needs, it has become evident that the Consortium needs to be established by the National Security Policy Board to ensure a consistent, coordinated US Government approach to biometric authentication and identification.

MISSION

The Consortium will serve as a Government focal point for research, development, test, evaluation, and application of biometric-based personal identification/authentication technology. The Consortium will encourage the use and acceptance of biometric technology in areas of critical need and also concern itself with maximizing performance, minimizing cost, and avoiding duplication of effort within the Government community. The Consortium will coordinate technological concerns and issues of performance and efficiency within the Government in order to serve the best interests of the taxpayer.

The Consortium will meet regularly to:

  • Promote the science and performance of biometrics.
  • Create standardized testing databases, procedures, and protocols for the community and security policy organizations.
  • Provide a forum for information exchange between the Government, private industry, and academia.
  • Establish increased Government and commercial interaction.
  • Facilitate symposia/workshops to include the participation of academia and private industry.
  • Establish a feedback mechanism for issues that are exposed during the actual application of this technology.
  • Address the safety, performance, legal, and ethical issues surrounding this technology.
  • Advise and assist member agencies concerning the selection and application of biometric devices.
The Consortium will also:
  • Coordinate with the Information Systems Security Committee to foster awareness of biometrics.
  • Establish ad hoc bodies, as required, to address specific areas of need within the Government biometric community.
  • Provide copies of all meeting invitations, agendas, published proceedings, and meeting minutes to the Chairpersons of the Security Policy Board, Facilities Protection Committee, and Information Systems Security Committee.
COMPOSITION AND ORGANIZATION
  1. The Facilities Protection Committee appoints the National Security Agency as the executive agent of the Consortium. The NSA will provide the chairperson of the Consortium.
  2. The members of the Consortium are Government agencies or organizations and will be represented by designated Government officials. Members of private industry and academia will be invited to the Consortium meetings in an observer capacity.

 

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