Is TWIC Dead?
The enforcement deadline is May 8 2023.

February 13, 2023 – From the desk of Trent White.

If the term TWIC elicits a negative emotional reaction, there’s a really good chance that you are one of the hundreds of facilities across the country waiting on the government to release an enforcement date for compliance with the security requirements of TWIC Final Rule and actually stick to it.

The “will they” or “won’t they” back and forth has caused quite a fervor in the port and petrochemical world. The ruling in 2016 was a long time coming after the release of the TWIC credential and then suspended in 2018 just weeks before the enforcement deadline.  After independent study and review the ruling reappeared in 2020.

The new enforcement deadline is May 8 2023 – or is it? There’s a proposal to push the enforcement deadline again (which is highly supported from the industries affected).  Is TWIC dead if they suspend the deadline yet again? Are there benefits to moving forward or at least toward compliance now?

TWIC isn’t dead. The affected industries indicate they’re in favor of sticking with the secure TWIC credential, but there’s a need for clear and definitive rules around security of those with TWIC accessing secure areas of TWIC facilities and a precise detailing of the facilities who are actually affected by the regulations.

There are benefits to moving forward with some elements of compliance. In addition to the facilities affected by the regulation, there are hundreds more facilities that require at least a visual inspection of a TWIC to enter the gates of their facilities.  Adding handhelds that can verify the TWIC and cardholder with the ability to integrate with your access control system is a simple and cost-effective security measure that works for all facilities that require TWIC for access. 

Going beyond that you can validate and register TWIC cardholders at your gates that aren’t already registered in your access control and your TWIC validation software.  That reduces the burden on your security personnel and your security budget. 

Add touchless biometrics for rapid 2 factor authentication during turnaround weeks or for daily access?  Addressing high throughput needs without relaxing or burdening security is something we’ve recently heard more request for from the industry.

FIPSlink from Identity One has taken the security and convenience above and beyond where it started when TWIC software came to market to address the security regulation challenges. FIPSlink enhances your TWIC security today and will provide you with a path to full compliance with the coming enforcement of the regulations.  FIPSlink is the only solution to provide you with everything you need from validation on a handheld to multi factor authentication at a gate and everything in between.

Contact Trent White by clicking here.