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BREADCRUMB

 1. Home
 2. About DHS
 3. Organization
 4. Operational and Support Components
 5. Management Directorate
 6. Office of Biometric Identity Management
 7. Biometrics

 * Chief Financial Officer
 * Chief Human Capital Officer
 * Chief Information Officer
 * Chief Procurement Officer
 * Chief Readiness Support Officer
 * Chief Security Officer
 * Office of Biometric Identity Management
    * Biometric Identity Management Identification Services
    * Biometrics
       * Exchanging Biometric Data
   
    * Privacy Information

 * Program Accountability and Risk Management


BIOMETRICS

Biometrics are unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, that can
be used for automated recognition. At the Department of Homeland Security,
biometrics are used for detecting and preventing illegal entry into the U.S.,
granting and administering proper immigration benefits, vetting and
credentialing, facilitating legitimate travel and trade, enforcing federal laws,
and enabling verification for visa applications to the U.S.

DHS provides biometric identification services to protect the Nation through its
Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM), which supplies the technology
for matching, storing, and sharing biometric data. OBIM is the lead designated
provider of biometric identity services for DHS, and maintains the largest
biometric repository in the U.S. Government.

This system, called the Automated Biometric Identification System or IDENT, is
operated and maintained by OBIM. IDENT currently holds approximately 300 million
unique identities and processes more than 400,000 biometric transactions per
day.

Through biometric interoperability with the Department of Defense (DoD) and the
Department of Justice (DoJ), DHS shares critical biometric information using
advanced data filtering and privacy controls to support the homeland security,
defense, and justice missions.

Click below to learn more about the biometric missions of the DoD, DoJ, and
other U.S. Government agencies.



 


RECENT NEWS AND EVENTS RELATED TO BIOMETRICS IN GOVERNMENT

 * April 4, 2023 – NIST: Specification for Certification Testing of Contactless
   Fingerprint Acquisition Devices, v1.0
 * March 8, 2023 – NIST: Hundreds Sign Up for the Upcoming NIST Innovative
   Technologies Showcase 2
 * February 23, 2023 – DHS S&T: DHS Announces Results of 2022 Biometric
   Technology Rally

Close all           Open all


WHAT IS A BIOMETRIC

A biometric is a measurable biological (anatomical and physiological) and
behavioral characteristic that can be used for automated recognition.

Source: From the Executive Office of the President, National Science and
Technology Council, Subcommittee on Biometrics, “The National Biometrics
Challenge,” September 2011.


BIOMETRICS IN HISTORY


OVERVIEW

Although automated biometric systems have only existed for a few decades, they
are based on ideas that are hundreds and thousands of years old. In the
mid-1800s, the rapid urbanization of the industrial revolution increased the
need for formal methods of identifying people, creating a boom in biometrics.
Today, biometrics are employed in law enforcement, commercial applications,
migration control, civil identification, healthcare, and more.


TIMELINE

 * In 1892, Sir Francis Galton developed the first fingerprint classification
   system.

 * In 1903, New York state prisons began using fingerprints.

 * In 1960, face recognition first became semi-automated due to research by
   Woodrow W. Bledsoe.

 * In 1969, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) sought to automate
   fingerprint recognition.

 * In 1994, the Immigration and Naturalization Service developed IDENT as a law
   enforcement tool for U.S. Border Patrol. By 1999, IDENT contained 1.8 million
   biometric identities.

 * In 1999, Rafael Resendez-Ramirez, “The Railroad Killer”, was captured and
   linked to multiple murders. Despite multiple convictions for various offenses
   in the U.S. dating back to 1977 as well as seven apprehensions by U.S. Border
   Patrol, he was routinely permitted to voluntarily return to Mexico because
   Border Patrol agents were unaware that he had outstanding warrants with the
   FBI and local law enforcement. This case brought about a review of IDENT and
   calls for the integration of IDENT with the FBI’s fingerprint database.

 * In 2011, the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of Homeland
   Security signed a Memorandum of Understanding that provided the policy
   framework for interoperability between the DoD's Automated Biometric
   Identification System (ABIS) and IDENT.


USE OF BIOMETRICS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY


IDENTITY ASSURANCE

Biometrics collected by DHS and linked to specific biographic information enable
a person’s identity to be established and then verified by the U.S. government.
With each encounter, from applying for a visa to seeking immigration benefits or
entering the United States, DHS:

 * Checks a person’s biometrics against a watch list of known or suspected
   terrorists, criminals, and immigration violators.
 * Checks against the entire database of fingerprints that the Department of
   Homeland Security has collected since OBIM began to determine if a person is
   using an alias and attempting to use fraudulent identification.
 * Checks a person’s biometrics against those associated with the identification
   document presented by the individual to ensure that the document belongs to
   the person presenting it and not to someone else.
 * OBIM provides the results of these checks to decision makers when and where
   they need it.

These services help prevent identity fraud and deprive criminals and immigration
violators of the ability to cross our borders. OBIM’s systems power Biometric
Facial Comparison at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which makes existing
requirements for travel more efficient. Based on biometrics alone, OBIM has
helped stop thousands of people who were ineligible to enter the United States. 


QUALITY OF LIFE AND SECURITY

 * Biometrics positively confirm the claimed identity of a traveler, worker,
   benefit applicant, or detainee.

 * Biometrics alert if an individual has derogatory information associated with
   their biometrics.

 * Biometrics inform if an individual previously claimed a different persona.


USE OF BIOMETRICS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE


IDENTITY ASSURANCE

Biometrics collected by DoD are handled by the Defense Forensics and Biometrics
Agency (DFBA). DFBA consolidates and coordinates forensics and biometrics
throughout DoD in support of identity activities across a range of military
operations. The ability to identify individuals using biometric technologies and
forensic exploitation enhances many different mission areas, enabling DoD to:

 * Support criminal prosecutions by providing material evidence linking, or
   denying linkage of, a person to a hostile act or crime.

 * Screen for terrorists, foreign fighters, and insurgents who rely on anonymity
   to shield themselves from U.S. Forces at home and abroad.

 * Protect U.S. borders through biometrics support to joint, interagency,
   intelligence, and international partners from groups and individuals
   attempting to enter the country and do harm to the Nation and its citizens.

 * Increase the effectiveness of physical and logical access control, allowing
   approved individuals to gain access without cards or badges, while
   unauthorized persons are flagged when they present their biometrics.


USE OF BIOMETRICS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


IDENTITY ASSURANCE

DOJ provides a variety of services, information, and training involving
biometrics. DOJ provides the criminal justice community with the world’s largest
and most efficient electronic repository of biometric and criminal history
information. DOJ has used various forms of biometric identification since its
earliest days, including assuming responsibility for managing the national
fingerprint collection in 1924. More recently, DOJ created the Biometric Center
of Excellence to strengthen the Nation’s ability to combat crime and terrorism
with state-of-the-art biometric technology and implemented the Global
Collections Program, which:

 * Collects high value biometrics obtained from foreign law enforcement
   partners. The biometric records pertain to individuals of interest to partner
   countries, the United States, or the international law enforcement community,
   and include individuals associated with or appropriately suspected of
   terrorist activity, egregious crimes, or transnational criminal activity.
 * Equips a rapid deployment team through the Quick Capture Platform whose
   members are prepared to deploy within four hours to support national and
   international special security events, critical incidents, and other
   emergency operations with rapid identification services.
 * Offers a Mobile Biometric Application (MBA) that can be used with an
   FBI-issued smart phone or tablet to scan fingerprints, allowing FBI agents
   and task force officers to quickly determine positive identification of
   suspected persons, internationally and domestically, making it more conducive
   to conduct expeditious field operations.
 * Mandates the sharing of criminal and terrorist biometrics with the FBI’s
   Criminal Justice Information Services Division as part of the Visa Waiver
   Program.


USE OF BIOMETRICS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE / NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF
STANDARDS AND TECHNOLOGY

Biometrics is the measurement of physiological characteristics like – but not
limited to – fingerprints, iris patterns, or facial features that can be used to
identify an individual. NIST has been conducting research in the area of
biometrics for over 60 years, with work on fingerprint technologies for the FBI
to support law enforcement and forensics dating back to the 1960s.

With the need for improved homeland security, biometrics were identified as a
key enabling technology. NIST (because of its mission and track record) supports
the government-wide effort to increase the collection of good quality
biometrics, to see that the data collected is appropriately shared with other
agencies, and to ensure that biometric systems are accurate and interoperable.


EXCHANGING BIOMETRIC DATA ACROSS AGENCIES

Federal, state local, tribal, and territorial governments — along with
international partners — all play a role in the continuum to collect, match,
store, share, analyze, and decide/act on biometric information (such as
fingerprints, iris scans, and face images). These organizations collaborate and
share data with each other to keep our nation and world safer. Biometric
identity files are shared via secure, standardized messaging formats that enable
data systems to communicate with other interfaces and associated systems. Two
examples of these messaging formats are the IDENT Exchange Message (IXM)
specification and the Electronic Biometric Transmission Specification (EBTS).

Learn how organizations share biometric data.


   KEYWORDS

 * Biometrics

Last Updated: 03/04/2024
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