Security Biometric Clearing Network (SBCN)

In today’s world, corporations, associations, educational institutions and even governments must concern themselves with ongoing threats to security and the escalating use of fraudulent identities. The Security Biometric Clearing Network (SBCN) was formed to address these concerns through comprehensive background checks, credentialing and digital identity management.

In 2006, Daon entered into a joint venture with the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) to create the SBCN to provide hosted, network based services for biometric identity management, including enrolment, background checking, secure biometric and biographic information storage and card issuance/lifecycle management. This modular set of services allows entities to select the pieces of the value chain that are needed, and uses an existing infrastructure to help mitigate risk and control costs. The SBCN services are built on the Daon platform to provide security, scalability and future proofing. We have become a leading trusted third party providing secure, flexible and reliable services for ensuring the protection and verification of identities in the public and private sectors. Bringing together government and public record vetting services, ensuring regulatory compliance or establishing trust for employees, SBCN has been successful in leveraging its experience with government, industry and end user communities to build an interoperable platform that can be tailored to meet specific program or service needs.

The SBCN delivers a proven end-to-end managed service offering with a wide variety of options for our customers. Our vast experience with industry, government and end-user customers, along with superior customer service, has set us apart as a leader in identity management. One example of the SBCN’s outstanding performance and service offerings is our role in the US Registered Traveler (RT) programs.

The SBCN has been heavily involved with the RT program since our inception. The TSA directed that the Transportation Security Clearinghouse (TSC) be used to facilitate rapid, efficient and trusted background checks for the RT program. The SBCN was tasked to build and operate the central data processing hub that would support these background checks, called the Central Identity Management System (CIMS). Utilizing the Transportation Security Clearinghouse, SBCN receives enrollment data, and sends it through the appropriate channels for background checks. A card payload is then sent back to the service provider to be encoded on the RT credential.

CIMS is the first system of its type in the world: a multi-biometric, standards-based, interoperable identity management system. The CIMS is responsible for several key functions in the RT architecture, including processing of all enrollment records, interfacing with the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) for background checks and participant vetting, establishment of the chain of trust throughout the system from vetted enrollments through issued credentials, and managing the alert process with service providers regarding revoked credentials. The CIMS was developed to process millions of enrollments, and was successfully deployed in only 69 days following final approval of the Registered Traveler Interoperability Consortium (RTIC) specification by the TSA.

Through all of this, the SBCN has become a trusted 3rd party, delivering proven, cost-effective and flexible solutions for our customers.

Read the press releases

• AAAE’s Transportation Security Clearinghouse Reaches Milestone for Facilitating Aviation Worker Background Checks
• AAAE’s Transportation Security Clearinghouse Announces Schedule, Terms For Registered Traveler Clearinghouse - First Service Provider Signs Agreement
• AAAE’s Transportation Security Clearinghouse Announces Schedule, Terms For Registered Traveler Clearinghouse - Unisys Corporation signs agreement with AAAE’s TSC

AAAE and the TRANSPORTATION SECURITY CLEARINGHOUSE

The American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and its internal service organization, the Transportation Security Clearinghouse (TSC) is the largest civilian clearinghouse in the nation, processing both Criminal History Record Checks (CHRC) and name-based background vetting requests for the aviation community. To date, the AAAE has facilitated over 3,000,000 biometrically-based and 1.6 million biographical background checks through the association’s Clearinghouse, the TSC. The TSC became operational under demanding timelines in support of the nation’s response to the events of 9/11 to secure the nation’s transportation infrastructure. In addition to being the leader in transaction volume, the TSC is also the fastest and most cost effective credentialing system performing these same services today.

The TSC is a non-profit arm of the AAAE organization that operates under agreement with the TSA to ensure CHRC (i.e. FBI background vetting checks) are accomplished for aviation workers who require access to the secure areas of airports. Operating since 2001, the TSC has:

• Reduced the average response for aviation worker background checks from 52 days to 4 hours, with many checks occurring in a matter of minutes.
• Reduced the cost (fee) per record for the aviation community twice since its inception – most recently to $27 (of which $17.25 goes to the FBI). By comparison, HAZMAT truckers utilize a system provided by private industry and pay around $100 to accomplish related CHRC checks.
• Implemented the first high-speed, secure network for fingerprint transmissions to the TSA.
• Successfully achieved an industry low error rate for fingerprint transmissions to FBI of 2% through value-added processing prior to submission (the average government error rate is 8%).

The reduction in time, from months to hours, to process CHRC checks in aviation has produced savings in the hundreds of millions of dollars in personnel costs for an industry struggling to achieve financial success. The TSC has developed a highly flexible, open platform capable of accepting multiple forms of identity and vetting information via secure network from over 400 enrollment centers around the nation and abroad.

In addition to the aviation worker vetting program, the TSC, in partnership with TSA, also supports background record checks for other key programs, including:

• Background checks and application elements for federal Transportation Security Officer screener candidates
• General aviation crews operating aircraft over 12,500 lbs;
• General aviation crews and armed security officers flying into Reagan Washington National Airport;
• Commercial charter pilots;
• Foreign applicants under the Alien Flight School Program and;
• Contract screeners at private screener airports.

For additional information on the TSC, see http://www.aaae.org/_pdf/_secpdf/TSCArticle.pdf