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    1. Secured Cities

    Improving ID management for critical infrastructure protection and crisis re-entry

    Nov. 11, 2013
    Building a trusted community of of crisis workers is crucial
    Photo Courtesy of stock,xchng.com
    Ensuring the ID security of trusted workers and responders in high-traffic critical infrastructure work zones is a key element to any security plan.
    Ensuring the ID security of trusted workers and responders in high-traffic critical infrastructure work zones is a key element to any security plan.

    As co-founder of the Secure Worker Access Consortium (SWAC) program, I've seen firsthand the success that results from building trusted communities of workers - people who stand ready to support critical infrastructure and re-enter a zone with the proper skill sets. The program is in place at some of our highest value targets - World Trade, the NY/NJ Port Authority and its bridges, airports and tunnels, as well as in other sensitive facilities throughout the region. The lessons learned are important, as is the mission - to build trusted communities.

    In my upcoming presentation at the Secured Cities Conference in Baltimore this Thursday, November 14, I will be sharing with attendees the various ways how emergency management and public safety officials can:

    1) Securely collect and validate personal information -- It's critical to validate personal information as it's collected. We have a responsibility in running these types of programs to collect information securely and maintain the integrity of that data so that it can be trusted for authentication. This presentation will explain how it can be done.

    2) Organize resources by active affiliations and skill sets -- The second critical success factor in implementing this type of program is to organize resources by who they're affiliated with, and what skill sets they possess to perform a particular job or specialized tasks that need to be done. The reason being, simply because someone is who they say they are doesn't mean that he/she belongs at an incident scene. That type of unauthorized response tends to extend the duration of the incident, and the cost associated with working that incident through to a successful conclusion.

    3) Protect themselves with standards and audits controls -- Don't be intimidated by the fact that you're going to collect personal information. You need to know who's affiliated with who, who does what, and when someone's identity, background or training certification expires. Yes, you're collecting and managing a lot of personal data. So protect yourself with standards that are already established, and audit controls that prove compliance with those standards.

    4) Empower officers with accurate, real-time information -- SWAC's trusted community empowers security personnel with real-time information that does not disclose personal information, but rather, privately says that an individual accessing critical infrastructure meets the criteria to access the location at a specific moment in time. When we consider identities, affiliations, and skill sets as part of the access decision equation, it drastically cuts the chaos at entry points, enabling our public safety officers to more efficiently and effectively control entry to secured zones.

    I hope to see you at Secured Cities this week. My session is on Thursday, November 14 from 9:00 to 9:50 AM in room 323 at the Baltimore Convention Center. For more information on how register, please go to www.securedcities.com.

    About the author

    Daniel W. Krantz is Managing Director and CEO of Real-Time Technology Group, (RTTG). A leading application service provider, RTTG provides public agencies and private companies with secure and fully managed technology solutions for mission-critical information challenges: personal identity verification, certification tracking, credential management, and real-time access control. Mr. Krantz brings over 22 years of entrepreneurial leadership, management experience, and technical engineering expertise to set the company's vision and strategy. He also co-founded and led the technical development of the Secure Worker Access Consortium (SWAC) a unique personnel assurance program that helps secure the NY/NJ metro area's highest-value terrorist targets and transportation infrastructures. In addition to his professional achievements, Mr. Krantz served his community for more than 12 years in volunteer Emergency Medical and Fire/Rescue Services. He was elected to various leadership positions including consecutive terms as Commanding Officer of his EMS unit in Somerset, NJ.  He holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Rutgers College of Engineering as well as numerous emergency responder certifications.