CRS - Central Register System

The CRS functions as a register of various kinds with all benefits from an enterprise-class register system. The register is implemented on our Annwyn framework and integrates seamlessly with our other solutions for live and form based enrollment, user management and biometrics, full audit trail mechanism, as well as with other standard & best-practice compliant front-end enrolment systems.

The CRS contains various functionalities from a Civil Register, control list from Border and Police Information, an interface to a Civil AFIS or other Biometrics Systems and ID-Card or Passport information and many more. The powerful, scalable & stress tested high performance SOA (Service Oriented Architecture) guarantees a future-proof investment and provides a system that can grow in size and be expanded with additional features and functionality over time to provide an up-to-date, secure and integrated register.

Each of the concepts or features outlined in the drawing is a key feature for the CRS and even more for a National Population Register. The smooth implementation of those features into one integrated operational register is what makes CRS capabilities unique. Depending on the final system design & architecture some of those features can vary from system to system, also depending on the middleware that is finally chosen by the customer to be deployed within the system. The Know-How how to integrate all components to a secure register is the speciality of Avalon Biometrics.

Key Features

Multiple Domains

Due to its powerfull and versatile architecture, CRS is available in various flavours to cater for all needs of our customers:

• CDRS Central Document Register System for ID Cards, Passports, DLs, etc.
• CNPRS Central National Population Register System
• CVIRS Central Visa Register System
• CVORS Central Voters Register System

Powerfull Platform

The state-of-the-art multi-tier tier software architecture implemented uses
• Java J2EE Application Server & Business Logic Unit
• Content Management System
• Persistence Engine
• Enterprise Service Bus
• Relational databases (Any SQL supported database supported)
• Web & Rich client front ends

Powerfull Management

• Most advanced System Managament Service, User , Identity, Role, , Rights, Site, Workstation and Workflow management for every service, user, workstation, etc.
• Synchronization Monitoring & Management
• Biometric & External Interface Monitoring & Management
• Control List Monitoring & Management
• Alarmn & Exception Handling
• System Monitoring & Reporting, including full log of all data to provide a complete audit trail
• Person Identity & Relation-Management

Powerfull Architecture

• SOA Multi-tier Architecture
• Truly scalable & distributable
• Advanced DB Replication
• Robust J2EE server side
• Web-Service Communication
• Hardware Independent
• Complex Workflow Orchestration
• High Availability, FailOver, Disaster
• Recovery & Load Balancing Support
• DB Encryption support
• Support for Secure Communication & PKI infrastrcuture with AES 256 default support for highest security

The key features of the CRS were created by implementing mandatory concepts and careful chosen features on an appropriate middleware to deliver an state-of-the-art robust & powerful architecture, meeting the needs of demanding authorities with highest requirements to their technical infrastructure and to deliver a future proof investment.

As the drawing depicts, the CRS is not merely a database but consists additional application server and optional Enterprise Service Bus, which realizes the interfaces to external systems, to the biometric system and to the clients that communicate with the CRS.

Within the application server resides the business logic and intelligence to orchestra the entire fully distributed & centralized system and all its workflows and business processes & rules.

Extendable to National Population Register - NPR

CRS was developed with a broader usage in mind than to serve as a document register only.

Our Annwyn framework and the implemented software architecture permit an upgrade to a Civil Register or to any form of a National Population Register as we define here.

Our concept of a National Population Register can be implemented over time in stages /phases and thru various government agencies to form such an integrated system that covers the population of a country and increases public security.

Let us assume that the CRS was initially installed to serve as an ID-Card register and now a country wants to add a passport register and an interface to the border police to check newly issued passports against the passport register.

• To facilitate this, we simply add passport tables to the register database structure and integrate a web service in the application server to enable the border control software a query whether that passport presented was actually issued.

• Such an addition to that initial CDRS might involve i.e. two new government agencies which would have created their own stand alone repositories if not a population register concept is available as featured by CDRS

Information Storage & Update

Every time a person requests a service he will either ask verbally for the service (data capturing by interview technique - BioCap) or fill in an application form (form based data capturing - FormCap) or request the service over the internet (e-Government service), CRS will generate automatically a transaction and assign a unique number or will process the corresponding number from the application form.

• The details of the requested operation, the relevant information, and the supporting documents, comments by the user, the current status and the outcome of the process are all recorded in the transaction entity.
• For the personal information, specific tables will log all changes made over time for a citizen as part of the History Concept of CRS.
• For every update additional audit information will be recorded into the history tables like time stamp, user that made the modification and workstation from where the update was performed. In order to minimize the storage space required for history data only the changed information will be stored, in addition to the transaction information.

For example, a citizen that is already registered in the database changes its current address from Street A to Street B, the history table will store the change made to the address column and record “Street A”. The link between all history information and the current citizen record will always be the unique citizen identifier.

• The History Concept to log all changes made to the documents issued requires a different logic. The principle is based on the assumption that every document issued has a unique record.

• Once the record is renewed or is not longer valid it will be stored into the history tables and deleted from the active tables. This mechanism allows the register to be able to reprint a 20 year old ID-Card with the old photo, neglecting the fact that 2 newer ID-Cards were issued.

The Person, Identity & Relationship Concept of CRS is utilized if CRS is extended to a CNPRS, in order to have all information linked to the person and identity over various levels and additonally also to handle and manage personal relationships between people to interlink them within the register to their family members, releatives etc. to provide central intelligence and investigation capabilities.

Information Revelation

• CRS is based on a comprehensive Security Concept, which is shared through all platforms within Avalon Biometrics solutions and tailored for the CRS component. This includes a number of elements, such as user identification, user profiles and complete logging for auditing, etc, targeted at providing maximum security to the system without compromising its usability.

• Our SAPS (Secure Access Protection System) is a complete system within our architecture, designed and created to control and unify the access security to systems that manage high sensitive information. SAPS is highly scalable to be used in CRS configurations by running on the server as integrated part of the CRS. It provides the ability to integrate into its security architecture existing applications, programs, modules & directories to achieve Single-Sign-On (SSO) for the entire system. SAPS supports biometrics log on using fingerprint scanners to authorize the user and to access the system, alongside with traditional username & password or optional with additional smartcard for login and authentication.

• The Reporting Concept of the CRS is based on predefined reports, ad hoc reports, end of day reports, exception reports, etc, and a reporting generation & management tool with a web-interface. As an option CRS includes a report writer tool for creation of customer specific reports. This tool enables the user to design new reports, but also exposes the system to the danger of badly written reports.

• Part of the Monitoring Concept of CRS is the provision of logging of all actions within the system to provide a full audit trail about everything that happened within the system. Addiotjnally various tools support the monitoring of the entire system with all the interfaces as well as monitoring of the syncrhonization, applications & network, etc.