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NIST to accredit biometrics labs

With the use of fingerprint, facial, retinal, voice recognition and other biometrics becoming more common for what is known as "Personal Identification Verification" (PIV), DHS has decided to establish a network of independent, third-party laboratories that can test the performance of equipment used for these biometrics purposes.

On February 29, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) announced that it is establishing a voluntary laboratory accreditation program to assess the personnel, equipment, calibration methods, sampling and testing programs used by such third-party laboratories.

The inspection and assessment of these labs would fall under NIST’s National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program, which is run out of NIST’s headquarters in Gaithersburg, MD.

Under this new accreditation program, the biometrics labs would be expected to conform to standards developed by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITES) and NIST.

"Accreditation will be granted to a laboratory following successful completion of a process, which will include submission of an application and payment of fees by the laboratory, an on-site assessment by technical experts, resolution of any nonconformities identified during the on-site assessment, and participation in proficiency testing," said NIST in a Federal Register announcement on February 29.

The use of biometrics for personal identification verification has become much more widespread with the implementation of Homeland Security Presidential-12 (HSPD-12), which calls for standardized PIV methodologies to be used by government employees and contractors to gain access to federal buildings and computer networks.

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