Probaris ID Issues FRACs for Demonstration With Medical Community and Government Agencies


PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire - March 3, 2008) - Probaris, Inc. and its partners are participating in the Winter Blast disaster preparedness demonstration in the Philadelphia and Washington, DC areas this week. Probaris is providing First Responder Authentication Credentials (FRACs) for the demonstration. The Probaris FRAC credentials comply with the federal FIPS 201 standard to ensure trust and interoperability.

The Winter Blast demonstration is hosted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Office of National Capital Region Coordination (NCRC). Participants include Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia Crozer-Chester Medical Center in Chester, Pennsylvania, the George Washington University Hospital and the Department of Veterans Affairs Hospital, both in Washington, DC.

Winter Blast is intended to prove the capability to rapidly and electronically authenticate first responders at disaster scenes. The authentication process allows emergency response officials to validate the identity and qualifications of first response personnel. The validation of personnel qualifications includes an electronic check of an individual's certifications, authorizations, and privileges.

The focus of Winter Blast is on the community of first responders that serve in Emergency Support Function 8 (ESF 8) within FEMA's National Response Framework (NRF). ESF 8 responders are from the Public Health and Medical Services community. The Emergency System for Advanced Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) will be used to validate the certifications of public health and medical workers during the demonstration.

Trusted and interoperable identity credentials for the Winter Blast demonstration are being issued using Probaris ID™. The credentials are compliant with federal standard Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201 to remove the burdens associated with first responder identification and the lifecycle management of credentials. Alternative proprietary and ad hoc credentialing processes have created delays, subjectivity, and uncertainty, including those experienced by emergency personnel responding to the September 11th terrorist attacks and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Winter Blast serves as a significant milestone and demonstration of the standards-based solutions available to provide first responders with a streamlined approach to accessing disaster sites.

About Probaris

Probaris (www.probaris.com) develops and markets Probaris ID™, an end-to-end solution for verification of employee identities. The solution is used to gather employee biometrics and other identity data for the issuance and life cycle management of secure credentials. Probaris ID is currently being used by federal agencies to comply with the HSPD-12 mandate of 2004. The Probaris ID Suite bundles multiple pre-integrated GSA-approved products to provide all elements of the credential solution.

Contact Information: For further information please contact: Megan McHugh 215.238.0510 x237