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DoD Names FiXs Network the First Federated Enterprise-Wide Solution for Cross-Credentialing

Posted on: Wednesday, 25 July 2007, 12:22 CDT

FAIRFAX, Va., July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federation for Identity and Cross-Credentialing Systems (FiXs), a public-private partnership dedicated to building and deploying a secure, interoperable identity and cross- credentialing network, today announced that its trusted identity network has been declared the first global and enterprise-wide solution for cross-credentialing between industry and government by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). Authentication and verification of credentials between FiXs member organizations and DoD Common Access Card (CAC) holders, through the issuance of the FiXs-certified credentials, marks the start of worldwide interoperable authentication transactions between industry and government.

In 2005, members of the FiXs consortium of federal, private sector, and non-profit organizations worked together to build the FiXs Network which became an authorized link to the U.S. Department of Defense Cross-Credentialing Identification System (DCCIS) infrastructure. Modeled after the financial industry's highly-secure and widely-accepted ATM (Automated Teller Machine) approach, the FiXs Network is a secure, scalable system that provides trusted, interoperable identity verification and credential authentication for contractors accessing a range of government facilities. The FiXs Network meets federally-mandated requirements, supports physical access applications, and integrates with an organization's existing personnel system, while leveraging the network's economies of scale.

"Providing the first trusted identity authentication network between DoD and its industry partners is a significant achievement for the FiXs organization and a demonstration of successful public-private partnership," said Michael Mestrovich, president of FiXs. "Now in full DoD production, the FiXs Network is operational on a global scale. The ability to conduct worldwide identity transactions represents a new era for federated identity strategies and clearly shows the commitment of industry and government to build more secure global identity management systems for physical applications."

During more than two years of collaboration, FiXs and DoD established a trust model, operating rules, policies, and the security guidelines necessary to implement an interoperable network, with a strong focus on revocation policies. Now, personnel holding a CAC or FiXs-certified credential can use one credential to authenticate their identity at multiple government and industry facilities. If an employee is terminated or leaves his or her place of employment, his or her credential in the FiXs Network will be revoked within three hours of termination, a more stringent revocation requirement than that of most government agencies.

"Until now, cross-bordering policies between government and industry had not been established," said Mary Dixon, director, Defense Manpower Data Center. "With the DCCIS/FiXs Network in operation, local authorities at government and industry facilities, military bases, labs, plants, and other facilities can make more informed decisions on physical access privileges which will reduce liability and the costs associated with credential enforcement while increasing security and force protection."

Trusted physical access between DoD and its industry partners will help to streamline and secure business transactions at local facilities and extends an interoperable and scalable solution to large and small users worldwide. "Now 'open for business,' the FiXs Network and proven trust model translates well into the enterprise access realm. We believe the associated financial, operational and security benefits will be significant," Mestrovich added.

For more information and a current list of FiXs members and participating government organizations, please visit: http://www.fixs.org/.

About FiXs

Founded in 2004 and headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, The Federation for Identity and Cross-Credentialing Systems (FiXs) is a coalition of government contractors, commercial companies and not-for-profit organizations whose mission is to establish and maintain a worldwide, interoperable identity and cross-credentialing network built on security, privacy, trust, standard operating rules, policies and technical standards. The FiXs Network verifies and authenticates the identity of industry personnel seeking to enter military installations, government-controlled areas and commercial sites tied to the network, providing a trusted mechanism for federated identity infrastructure within and between public and private sector organizations.

The coalition currently has 23 member companies, including systems integrators, financial institutions and other organizations that want to promote improved workforce protection and systems security for critical infrastructure markets. The U.S. Department of Defense and General Services Administration are participating government organizations.

The FiXs Network is an authorized link to the U.S. Department of Defense Cross-Credentialing Identification System (DCCIS) and a joint recipient of the 2005 FCW Events Government Solution Center Pioneer Award for "Successful Public/Private Sector Partnership," representing a premier example of a program managed collaboratively by government and non-government partners that tangibly improved government operations. For more information, visit http://www.fixs.org/.

The Federation for Identity and Cross-Credentialing Systems

CONTACT: Courtney Jewell, Media Relations, of Extension Group,+1-703-234-7815, cjewell@extensiongroup.com

Web site: http://www.fixs.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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