Unisys wins HSPD-12 certification

Unisys offers reward for stolen desktop PC

The General Services Administration has certified Unisys as a provider of integration services, products and managed security services under Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12).

According to a company statement released today, the certification enables Unisys to offer civilian agencies employee resources and consulting, systems engineering, and technical advisory and certification/accreditation services.

Stanford Group, a financial services company, puts the potential value of HSPD-12 opportunities at about $1.3 billion over five years, with the bulk of the revenue flowing in fiscal 2007 to 2009, according to Unisys’ statement.

Under HSPD-12, federal employees and contractors must have biometrically enabled identification credentials that are interoperable among the various agencies. Benefits of this type of identification include improved security, reductions in identity theft and fraud, and enhanced cardholder privacy protection, Unisys said.

To implement HSPD-12, the government drafted technical standards and business process definitions for a range of identity credential systems in the public and private sectors. Unisys’ authentication solutions conform to those standards but are not limited to HSPD-12, according to the statement.

“The effort to adapt and extend the government standards for generic use outside the federal government in the public and private sectors is a key area in which Unisys expects to take a leadership position,” said Mike Gibbons, vice president and general manager of enterprise security initiatives at the company.