WidePoint Corporation
Encyclopedia
WidePoint Corporation is an American
company based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
that provides technology-based products and services
to the government sector and commercial markets in the United States. The company holds a patent
for a digital parsing tool that allows users to access accounts through a secure repository gateway
, established using asymmetric authentication
employed as PKI
. WidePoint provides smart card
identity verification, wireless expense management, penetration test
ing and other IT devices and services. WidePoint’s subsidiary ORC is an authorized certification authority
(CA) for the Department of Defense
and other government agencies
.
WidePoint was incorporated in Delaware
on May 30, 1997 and has grown through mergers between IT consulting firms. Currently, the company is composed of three business group
s offering Wireless Mobility Management, Cybersecurity solutions and consulting services
.
The Company is headquartered in McLean, Virginia
and has three additional offices in Northern Virginia
as well as one in Deerfield Beach, Florida
.
for the United States Department of Defense
, GSA
, and many other certificate-based authorities. ORC also provides application specific hardware and software to maintain high levels of information assurance
.
s. The company develops software using its patent-pending competitively differentiated encryption
, which uses asymmetric authentication
employed as PKI
to provide user and sender verification with up to 2048-bit encryption. This improves upon standard multi-factor authentication by eliminating the additional hardware, licensing and support usually required to provide a comparable level security. With this encryption, all incoming and outgoing traffic
(email
, HTTP, FTP, IM
, VoIP, etc.) is automatically encrypted and authenticated.
s and infrastructure agencies
as well as evidence tracking software for the Department of Justice
. The emergency coordination package is based around the trademarked RaptorID system, which issues physical identification devices
(barcode
s, smart cards) to first responders so that field operations can immediately identify each responder and establish their credentials. RaptorID smart cards store baseline attributes as mandated by national standards organizations like the National Fire Protection Association
and often contain additional information about the user, including skills, training, certifications and medical record
s. The RaptorID system is designed to meet FEMA and ANSI
specifications for first responder credentialing.
ARCC's crime scene management and evidence tracking software, CONDOR, gives crime scene officials the ability to digitally record and track evidence throughout the chain of custody
, as well as monitor the activities of all personnel involved. ARCC achieves this by embedding RFID trackers into each piece of evidence and biometrically scanning each official that attempts to accesses the evidence, all in accordance with the U.S. National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) compliance system.
. WidePoint currently holds contracts with the TSA
, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense
, Washington Headquarters Services
, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
, and the Centers for Disease Control, as well as many government contractors and private corporations.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
company based in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois
Oakbrook Terrace is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. The population was 2,300 at the 2000 census. A 2003 recount gave the city a population of 2,293. Its current mayor is Tony "Red Panda" Ragucci.-Points of interest:...
that provides technology-based products and services
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
to the government sector and commercial markets in the United States. The company holds a patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for a digital parsing tool that allows users to access accounts through a secure repository gateway
Gateway (telecommunications)
In telecommunications, the term gateway has the following meaning:*In a communications network, a network node equipped for interfacing with another network that uses different protocols....
, established using asymmetric authentication
Public key infrastructure
Public Key Infrastructure is a set of hardware, software, people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates. In cryptography, a PKI is an arrangement that binds public keys with respective user identities by means of a certificate...
employed as PKI
Public key infrastructure
Public Key Infrastructure is a set of hardware, software, people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates. In cryptography, a PKI is an arrangement that binds public keys with respective user identities by means of a certificate...
. WidePoint provides smart card
Smart card
A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...
identity verification, wireless expense management, penetration test
Penetration test
A penetration test, occasionally pentest, is a method of evaluating the security of a computer system or network by simulating an attack from malicious outsiders and malicious insiders...
ing and other IT devices and services. WidePoint’s subsidiary ORC is an authorized certification authority
Certificate authority
In cryptography, a certificate authority, or certification authority, is an entity that issues digital certificates. The digital certificate certifies the ownership of a public key by the named subject of the certificate...
(CA) for the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and other government agencies
Independent agencies of the United States government
Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments...
.
WidePoint was incorporated in Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
on May 30, 1997 and has grown through mergers between IT consulting firms. Currently, the company is composed of three business group
Business group
A corporate group is a collection of parent and subsidiary corporations that function as a single economic entity through a common source of control. The concept of a group is frequently used in tax law, accounting and company law to attribute the rights and duties of one member of the group to...
s offering Wireless Mobility Management, Cybersecurity solutions and consulting services
Management consulting
Management consulting indicates both the industry and practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement....
.
The Company is headquartered in McLean, Virginia
McLean, Virginia
McLean is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. The community had a total population of 48,115 as of the 2010 census....
and has three additional offices in Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia
Northern Virginia consists of several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia, in a widespread region generally radiating southerly and westward from Washington, D.C...
as well as one in Deerfield Beach, Florida
Deerfield Beach, Florida
Deerfield Beach is a city in Broward County, Florida, USA. The city is named for the numerous deer that once roamed the area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,018...
.
Acquisition History
In November 2004, WidePoint acquired ORC, followed by iSYS in January 2008. The Company also operates WidePoint IL, Inc. and Protexx Acquisition Corp, which was acquired in July 2008.iSYS
iSYS, LLC, provides IT services for federal and private organizations. It was founded in 1999 and purchased by WidePoint in January 2008. iSYS divides its services into three distinct categories:- Wireless Telecommunications Expense Management Services (TEMS): iSYS’s Telecom Management Services partners with the client’s wireless carrierMobile network operatorA mobile network operator , also known as mobile phone operator , carrier service provider , wireless service provider, wireless carrier, or cellular company, or mobile network carrier is a telephone company that provides services for mobile phone subscribers.One essential...
to manage the expense of the telecom services. iSYS acts as a single source through which a client can manage all of its wireless assets (cell phonesMobile phoneA mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
, BlackBerryBlackBerryBlackBerry is a line of mobile email and smartphone devices developed and designed by Canadian company Research In Motion since 1999.BlackBerry devices are smartphones, designed to function as personal digital assistants, portable media players, internet browsers, gaming devices, and much more...
s, PDAPDAA PDA is most commonly a Personal digital assistant, also known as a Personal data assistant, a mobile electronic device.PDA may also refer to:In science, medicine and technology:...
s, air cards and pagerPagerA pager is a simple personal telecommunications device for short messages. A one-way numeric pager can only receive a message consisting of a few digits, typically a phone number that the user is then requested to call...
s). iSYS manages all of its devices in accordance with the GSA Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative and claims that their TEMS can save the client 30-50% on wireless costs. iSYS explains that this savings is based on a combination of increased accountabilityAccountabilityAccountability is a concept in ethics and governance with several meanings. It is often used synonymously with such concepts as responsibility, answerability, blameworthiness, liability, and other terms associated with the expectation of account-giving...
, automated processesAutomationAutomation is the use of control systems and information technologies to reduce the need for human work in the production of goods and services. In the scope of industrialization, automation is a step beyond mechanization...
, consolidation of services, and proper device management. iSYS provides a web portalWeb portalA web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
through which clients can manage all of their telecommunications needs in one place. The company manages more wireless devices than any other TEM service provider. - Forensic Informatics: iSYS provides system engineering available to federal, state, and local law enforcementLaw enforcement agencyIn North American English, a law enforcement agency is a government agency responsible for the enforcement of the laws.Outside North America, such organizations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police while others have other names In North American...
in the United States. iSYS’s Forensic Informatics can help law enforcement agencies implement newer information systemsInformation systemsInformation Systems is an academic/professional discipline bridging the business field and the well-defined computer science field that is evolving toward a new scientific area of study...
that meet modern requirements. - Cybersecurity: iSYS creates and performs vulnerability testsPenetration testA penetration test, occasionally pentest, is a method of evaluating the security of a computer system or network by simulating an attack from malicious outsiders and malicious insiders...
on MicrosoftMicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
and UnixUnixUnix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
environmentsOperating systemAn operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
. These tests often involve the use of penetration tools such as NessusNessus (software)In computer security, Nessus is a proprietary comprehensive vulnerability scanning program. It is free of charge for personal use in a non-enterprise environment. Its goal is to detect potential vulnerabilities on the tested systems. For example:...
, neWT, and eRetina, as well as other security testing tools. Clients include the Department of DefenseUnited States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, FBI and National Institute of Health. - iSYS also provides customized consulting services.
ORC
ORC provides IT integration and secure authentication services to the U.S. Government. It is an authorized certificate authorityCertificate authority
In cryptography, a certificate authority, or certification authority, is an entity that issues digital certificates. The digital certificate certifies the ownership of a public key by the named subject of the certificate...
for the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, GSA
General Services Administration
The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S...
, and many other certificate-based authorities. ORC also provides application specific hardware and software to maintain high levels of information assurance
Information Assurance
Information assurance is the practice of managing risks related to the use, processing, storage, and transmission of information or data and the systems and processes used for those purposes...
.
Protexx
Protexx provides Remote Authentication over wired and wireless networkWireless network
Wireless network refers to any type of computer network that is not connected by cables of any kind. It is a method by which homes, telecommunications networks and enterprise installations avoid the costly process of introducing cables into a building, or as a connection between various equipment...
s. The company develops software using its patent-pending competitively differentiated encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
, which uses asymmetric authentication
Public key infrastructure
Public Key Infrastructure is a set of hardware, software, people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates. In cryptography, a PKI is an arrangement that binds public keys with respective user identities by means of a certificate...
employed as PKI
Public key infrastructure
Public Key Infrastructure is a set of hardware, software, people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute, use, store, and revoke digital certificates. In cryptography, a PKI is an arrangement that binds public keys with respective user identities by means of a certificate...
to provide user and sender verification with up to 2048-bit encryption. This improves upon standard multi-factor authentication by eliminating the additional hardware, licensing and support usually required to provide a comparable level security. With this encryption, all incoming and outgoing traffic
Internet traffic
-Historical Internet Traffic Growth:Because of the distributed nature of the Internet, there is no single point of measurement for total Internet traffic...
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, HTTP, FTP, IM
Instant messaging
Instant Messaging is a form of real-time direct text-based chatting communication in push mode between two or more people using personal computers or other devices, along with shared clients. The user's text is conveyed over a network, such as the Internet...
, VoIP, etc.) is automatically encrypted and authenticated.
Advance Response Concepts Corporation
ARCC provides identity verification and emergency coordination between emergency serviceEmergency service
Emergency services are organizations which ensure public safety and health by addressing different emergencies. Some agencies exist solely for addressing certain types of emergencies whilst others deal with ad hoc emergencies as part of their normal responsibilities...
s and infrastructure agencies
Independent agencies of the United States government
Independent agencies of the United States federal government are those agencies that exist outside of the federal executive departments...
as well as evidence tracking software for the Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
. The emergency coordination package is based around the trademarked RaptorID system, which issues physical identification devices
Identity document
An identity document is any document which may be used to verify aspects of a person's personal identity. If issued in the form of a small, mostly standard-sized card, it is usually called an identity card...
(barcode
Barcode
A barcode is an optical machine-readable representation of data, which shows data about the object to which it attaches. Originally barcodes represented data by varying the widths and spacings of parallel lines, and may be referred to as linear or 1 dimensional . Later they evolved into rectangles,...
s, smart cards) to first responders so that field operations can immediately identify each responder and establish their credentials. RaptorID smart cards store baseline attributes as mandated by national standards organizations like the National Fire Protection Association
National Fire Protection Association
The National Fire Protection Association is a United States trade association that creates and maintains private, copywrited, standards and codes for usage and adoption by local governments...
and often contain additional information about the user, including skills, training, certifications and medical record
Medical record
The terms medical record, health record, and medical chart are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the systematic documentation of a single patient's medical history and care across time within one particular health care provider's jurisdiction....
s. The RaptorID system is designed to meet FEMA and ANSI
Ansi
Ansi is a village in Kaarma Parish, Saare County, on the island of Saaremaa, Estonia....
specifications for first responder credentialing.
ARCC's crime scene management and evidence tracking software, CONDOR, gives crime scene officials the ability to digitally record and track evidence throughout the chain of custody
Chain of custody
Chain of custody refers to the chronological documentation or paper trail, showing the seizure, custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposition of evidence, physical or electronic...
, as well as monitor the activities of all personnel involved. ARCC achieves this by embedding RFID trackers into each piece of evidence and biometrically scanning each official that attempts to accesses the evidence, all in accordance with the U.S. National Information Exchange Model (NIEM) compliance system.
Government Contracts
Most of WidePoint’s government client base is located in the Mid-Atlantic regionMid-Atlantic States
The Mid-Atlantic states, also called middle Atlantic states or simply the mid Atlantic, form a region of the United States generally located between New England and the South...
. WidePoint currently holds contracts with the TSA
Transportation Security Administration
The Transportation Security Administration is an agency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that exercises authority over the safety and security of the traveling public in the United States....
, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
, Washington Headquarters Services
Washington Headquarters Services
Washington Headquarters Services was established as a U.S. Department of Defense Field Activity on October 1, 1977 as part of a DoD headquarters streamlining initiative. Approximately 1,300 WHS staff are organized into 7 Directorates and 2 Offices...
, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is a federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security charged with regulating and facilitating international trade, collecting import duties, and enforcing U.S. regulations, including trade, customs and immigration. CBP is the...
, and the Centers for Disease Control, as well as many government contractors and private corporations.