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NIEM Biometrics Domain @ 2013 Biometrics Consortium Conference

Next week in Tampa, Florida, the annual Biometrics Consortium Conference (BCC) will welcome speakers from all over the world to discuss the rapidly evolving field of biometrics and identity management.

The NIEM Biometrics domain (NBD), in conjunction with the Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM), will conduct multiple sessions during the meeting, providing briefings, as well as training, related to NIEM and its impact on the Biometrics community.

Diane Stephens, Chair of the NIEM Biometrics domain, commented on the opportunity for the Biometrics domain to offer training at the BCC.

"As part of our overall strategy, we are focused on rapidly expanding and educating the biometrics community, and these training sessions are a great step in that direction. BCC organizers have been terrific in helping us coordinate the training activities. This is an added value to our communities of interest (COIs), and I expect huge, positive expansion of our biometrics collaborative zone."

Kamran Atri, subject matter expert (SME) and facilitator for the Biometric domain, further noted that such training continues to be an integral part of the domain's outreach activities. "Since the creation of the Biometrics domain, COI outreach has been the cornerstone of targeted activities for the NBD team. This is the first time a NIEM domain is bringing the NIEM and NBD training to the public as such—conducting two full sessions to train participants attending the conference from all over the world on NIEM."

The BCC is scheduled for September 17-19 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. The NIEM Biometrics domain and OBIM topics sessions are broken down as follows:

NBD Training Session I—Speakers: Diane Stephens (DHS OBIM/NBD Chair), Kamran Atri (CSE/NBD Program Manager), Shuchita Bora (CSE/NBD Team)

This training session is facilitated by the NIEM Biometrics domain and includes:

  • An overview of NIEM (framework, mission, and goals)
  • A review of recent activities associated with the NIEM Biometrics domain, including schema development, domain-to-domain alignment, and harmonization
  • NIEM 3.0 preparation, as well as information related to available technical assistance, including working group and tiger team formation and utilization

Standards Briefing—Speakers: Diane Stephens (DHS OBIM/NBD Chair), Kamran Atri (CSE/NBD Program Manager), Brad Wing (NIST)

This session will provide:

  • An overview of the current and future state of Biometrics Standards, including an overview of frameworks, organizations involved, and new developments within the field.
  • Speakers from the NIEM Biometrics domain and NIST will discuss a number of topics, including the rationalization for standardization within operational settings, the current state of standardization within both policy-driven organizations and operationally focused mission-centric organizations, as well as the changes that will be affected by the release of NIEM 3.0 and what the next steps should be for NIEM practitioners and adopters.

NBD Training Session II—Speakers: Diane Stephens (DHS OBIM/NBD Chair), Kamran Atri (CSE/NBD Program Manager), Shuchita Bora (CSE/NBD Team)

This training session is similar in scope to training session I, but will also include a brief examination and demonstration of tools used to search attributes and work with NIEM.

First held in 1992, the Biometric Consortium Conference is a focal point for research, development, testing, evaluation, and application of biometric-based identification and verification technology that brings together individuals and organizations from government, industry, and academia.

Learn more about the NIEM Biometrics domain here.