Criterian Independent Labs Officially Established as Certified Common Criteria Testing Lab
FAIRMONT, W.Va., Aug. 8, 2003 — The West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC) Foundation established its Criterian Independent Labs program on August 1 upon receipt of its official accreditation to provide evaluations for the National Information Assurance Partnership (NIAP). The accreditation by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) makes the Fairmont, W.Va.-based operation one of only eight such evaluation labs in the U.S.
As an accredited commercial laboratory, the WVHTC Foundation’s Criterian Independent Labs will conduct evaluations as a Common Criteria Testing Lab (CCTL). The Common Criteria (CC) is an internationally developed and recognized standard for evaluation of off-the-shelf information assurance products.
"Criterian Independent Labs has been officially established to conduct Common Criteria security testing for IT producers and consumers," said James L. Estep, WVHTC Foundation President and CEO. "West Virginia is becoming increasingly known as a biometrics and technology hub. Although Criterian Independent Labs can evaluate any information assurance product, our plan is to put a special emphasis on biometrics products. With West Virginia’s national leadership in the biometrics arena, this is a natural fit."
"This is further proof that our high-tech sector has developed significant technical capabilities in a relatively short period of time," Congressman Alan B. Mollohan said. "Jim Estep and his team are to be congratulated on this achievement, which surely will lead to new opportunities for our region in the information assurance field."
As a CCTL, Criterian Independent Labs can perform evaluations that are accepted internationally. The CC standard was developed to provide an accepted set of criteria by the international community for uniform IT product security evaluations. As the result of development by professionals from the U.S., Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, the CC is now recognized around the world. In the U.S., government agencies purchasing products for use in systems that enter, process, store, display or transmit national security information have been required since July 2002 by a federal government mandate [NSTISSP No. 11] to purchase products that have been evaluated by CCTLs. Government agencies of many other countries also have similar requirements for IT products. "This is a huge accomplishment by a dedicated, highly skilled team and, in fact, is really a dual certification," said Roger Duckworth, Vice President for Technology Management at the WVHTC Foundation. "The first designation is being certified as a laboratory that meets the high standards set by these government accreditation bodies, and the second is that our talented personnel have the experience and knowledge to have earned the special certification in information assurance necessary to receive the NIST accreditation."
Notification of the accreditation came on the first day of the month commemorating the 10th anniversary of the WVHTC Foundation, and brought to fruition nearly three years of preparation and establishment of the highest of standards to meet the security testing, evaluation and assessment needs of information technology consumers and producers, leading to the establishment of the WVHTC Foundation’s Criterian Independent Labs.
Criterian Independent Labs is an initiative of the WVHTC Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in Fairmont, W.Va., functioning as an engine of economic change for growing a statewide and regional high tech business sector. The Foundation has established a multi-faceted approach to maximize economic development, including infrastructure development, research and development, commercialization and workforce development.
For further information on Criterian Independent Labs, go to http://criterianlabs.org or www.wvhtf.org.
Contact Kathy Malnick, Senior Manager, Criterian Independent Labs, at 304-366-2577.
SOURCE West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation
