HHS ID Badge Rollout Scorecard

Here are the most recent NIH badging statistics provided by HHS as of December 9, 2011.  

Sponsored: 39,495    Enrolled: 38,594   Issued: 38,204 *

*This figure represents 96.7% of individuals who have been sponsored.

PSC Regional Offices Now Offer Enrollment, Badge Issuance and Certificate Renewal Services to NIH Personnel    

The NIH has contracted with the Program Support Center (PSC) to offer badging services at its Regional Offices to NIH personnel located around the country. This arrangement provides a solution for the many individuals who require enrollment or badge issuance services as well as certificate re-certifications, but travel to DPSAC's facilities in Bethesda or other satellite locations would be impractical.    

Click here to view a listing of PSC Regional Office locations and contact information as well as guidelines for obtaining HHS ID Badge Enrollment, Issuance and Maintenance services at these sites.*

Note: Individuals must call ahead for an appointment with the PSC Regional Administrative Manager (RAM) in the region closest to their office.

* Travel costs will not be borne by DPSAC.  

e-QIP 3.0 Scheduled to Deploy in January, 2012

OPM recently announced that it will move the delivery date for e-QIP 3.0 from December 4, 2011 to January 22, 2012.  According to OPM, the additional time "will ensure appropriate connectivity and technical testing is completed."   

E-QIP version 3.0 is a full system upgrade that involves changes to OPM hardware, servers, databases, and all of its connection points.   

The schedule for roll-out of e-QIP version 3.0 will begin on Sunday, January 22, 2012, at a time to be determined, and may continue until early Monday morning, January 23 2012.

Last Chance for NED Training in 2011

There's still time to sign up for the December 19 Beginner and Advanced NED training classes that close out the NED training schedule for 2011. These classes offer NED users an opportunity to quickly master NED in a hands-on computer lab environment.

NED for Beginners      

Date:  Monday, December 19, 2011

Time:  9 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.

Location:  6120 Executive Blvd., Room 2 (EPS)    

NED for Advanced Users     

Date:  Monday, December 19, 2011

Time:  1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Location:  6120 Executive Blvd., Room 2 (EPS)

Contact Lanny Newman at newmanl@mail.nih.gov to reserve your space. In your e-mail, provide Lanny with your name and IC and which course you would like to attend.  

NED v3.1.1 to Go Live Soon 

CIT sent the following e-mail on December 13, 2011 to NED users and other selected staff notifying them of the imminent release of NED v3.1.1 and the planned system outage during the deployment of this updated version of NED.

Event Details:

The NIH Enterprise Directory (NED) project team will be deploying NED v3.1.1 starting Friday, December 16, 7:30 PM through Monday, December 19, 7:30 AM.  End users will be unable to access the following NED web interfaces during the maintenance window:

• NED web portal used by NIH administrative staff, DPSAC, IT Service Desk, and others (https://ned.nih.gov/ned)
• NED public search (http://ned.nih.gov)
• NED/AD Link Editor
• NED Sponsor Management interface

Should there be a need to access any of the above NED services during the planned system outage, please contact ned-ops@list.nih.gov by close of business December 14, 2011. 

NED data customers that obtain data via the NED Oracle database *will* be able to connect to the database during the maintenance window.

Impacted Services/Applications:

• NED web interfaces listed above
• Automated provisioning/de-provisioning of NIH primary AD accounts via ADM (Active Roles Server) will not be possible during the scheduled outage as this service relies on the NED web portal.  IT staff with access to ADM can manually de-provision NIH primary AD accounts, however.  If there is an urgent need to provision a primary AD account during the outage, please submit an NIH IT Service Desk request at http://itservicedesk.nih.gov or e-mail the CIT Continuity Assurance Program at citdcscap@mail.nih.gov.

Impacted Users:

Users attempting to access the impacted services/applications listed above.

Expected Resolution Time:

All NED services should be available by Monday, December 19, 7:30 AM.

ICs Offer Convenient PIN Reset & 'Cert' Renewal Services for their Personnel  

Most ICs have purchased Lifecycle Work Stations for the benefit of their staffs who wish to obtain PIN reset and PIV Card certificate renewal services at nearby convenient locations.

Whether you've forgotten your PIN and need to have it reset, or you've received notification that your HHS ID Badge (PIV Card) certificates are about to expire and need to be renewed, a trained LWS operator from your IC can help.   

To view a table of LWS Administrators by IC, visit:

An LWS training guide, "IAM@HHSLifecycle Work Station: PIN Reset and Certificate Update Training" is included with every LWS order and can also be viewed online at:

  http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dpsac/training/Pages/lifecycle.aspx   

NIST's New Standards to Bring HSPD-12 to Smartphones

Click on FederalNewsRadio.com, December 8, 2011, by Jason Miller to read the full story.

The excitement and inevitability of mobile computing is forcing agencies to rethink how they implement Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12.

With 5.1 million federal employees and contracting holding secure identification cards and the impending deadline for agencies to begin using these cards to log on to their computer network, the National Institute of Standards and Technology is updating the federal standard for implementing HSPD-12.

NIST is considering five different options for how the smartcard could be integrated with smartphones or tablet computers. The new Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 201-2 is expected to be ready in the second quarter of 2012, said Hildegard Ferraiolo, a NIST computer scientist.

While NIST doesn't expect the mobile device to replace the desktop or laptop in the short term, Ferraiolo said a combination of agency demand and the need to keep up with technology is driving the updates to the federal standard.

"The update covers new technology that we think needs to be incorporated," Ferraiolo said after Interagency Smartcard Advisory Board meeting in Washington Wednesday. "It's been five or almost six years since the first one came out. We have been doing research to figure out how do we enable the [HSPD-12] card with smartphones."

Only the Defense Department has actively tried to integrate the mobile device with the Common Access Card - its version of HSPD-12. DoD has tested the use of a Bluetooth reader to encrypt emails.

The Pentagon is trying a different approach, using a secure app on the smartphone. NIST's effort will make integration more smooth.

Ferraiolo said the challenge the new standard will try to address is combining two pieces of hardware - the smartcard and the phone.  

Read more....

A Term You May Want to Become Familiar With: "Near Field Communication (NFC)"   

Excerpted from the ORACLE Sun Developer Network: "An Introduction to Near-Field Communication and the Contactless Communication API"  by C. Enrique Ortiz.

Near-field Communication (NFC) is characterized as a very short-range radio communication technology with a lot of potential, especially when applied to mobile handsets. Imagine yourself using your cellphone to interact with posters, magazines, and even with products while at the store, and with such interaction initiating a request or search for related information in real-time.

Other usages of NFC include the electronic wallet to make payments using your handset, the same way you do with your credit card. With NFC all this is possible. But NFC is still a young technology. That said, NFC-enabled handsets are being introduced into the market, and deployments and pilots around the world are occurring.

NFC is a standard defined by a global consortium of hardware, software/application, credit card companies, banking, network-providers, and others who are interested in the advancement and standardization of this promising technology.

This a short-range radio technology is triggered when two NFC- compatible devices (e.g., smart phones or other similar devices) are brought within close proximity, around four centimeters. Because the transmission range is so short, NFC-based transactions are inherently secure.

Safety Corner

For all emergencies on the NIH main campus, dial "911" to reach the NIH Emergency Communications Center (ECC).  

For off-campus emergencies, dial "9-911" to reach an emergency operator.  

For more information about NIH's emergency call center, visit: http://www.ors.od.nih.gov/ser/dp/Pages/911-Call-Center.aspx.