The Pegasus Program is deploying approximately 1,100 fingerprint access authentication devices for 220 sheriffs' offices in the first phase of this project. Plans are in place to expand the rollout to over 3,000 sheriffs' offices nationwide as well as local law enforcement and first responder agency partners. Under the program, each participating sheriff's office is provided the WEB-key software along with fingerprint readers. Larger offices can purchase additional readers if necessary.
The Pegasus system provides sheriffs in any state with Web-based access to information required for day-to-day law enforcement investigations and first responder situations. It also allows them to securely send and receive secure messages to other jurisdictions, such as requests for information and assistance and alerts. WEB-key assures that only authorized personnel access the system through positive fingerprint authentication.
Although there are fingerprint authentication systems in use within a single location or enterprise, the Pegasus Program is believed to be the first multi-agency system using secure Internet connections for fingerprint authentication. The new system addresses the most pressing issue in homeland security: sharing critical information between first responders nationwide in a highly secure environment.
