- Email: [email protected]
GAO to study biometrics for border control applications
BTT May.qxd
5/14/02
9:55 AM
Page 2
NEWS
Copyright Notice This newsletter and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by Elsevier Science Ltd, and the following terms and conditions apply to their use: Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier Science Rights & Permissions Department, PO Box 800, Oxford OX5 1DX, UK; tel: +44 (0)1865 843830, fax: +44 (0)1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@ elsevier.com. You may also contact Rights & Permissions directly through Elsevier’s home page (http://www.elsevier.nl), selecting first ‘Customer Support’, then ‘General Information’, then ‘Permissions Query Form’. In the USA, users may clear permissions and make payments through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA; tel: 978 7508400, fax: +1 978 7504744, and in the UK through the Copyright Licensing Agency Rapid Clearance Service (CLARCS), 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP, UK; tel: +44 (0) 171 436 5931; fax: +44 (0)171 436 3986. Other countries may have a local reprographic rights agency for payments. Derivative Works Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution. Permission of the publisher is required for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. Electronic Storage or Usage Permission of the publisher is required to store or use electronically any material contained in this journal, including any article or part of an article. Contact the publisher at the address indicated. Except as outlined above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Address permissions requests to: Elsevier Science Rights & Permissions Department, at the mail, fax and e-mail addresses noted above. Notice No responsibility is assumed by the Publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made. Although all advertising material is expected to conform to ethical (medical) standards, inclusion in this publication does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement of the quality or value of such product or of the claims made of it by its manufacturer.
02265 Printed by Mayfield Press (Oxford) Ltd.
2
Immigration
Visa waiver countries set tight deadline by USA The many countries with a Visa-waiver arrangement to enter the USA have been set a tight deadline to introduce biometric identifiers into their national passports, following the approval of a Bill to enhance border security in the United States. The "Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2001," (S. 1749), sailed through the Senate and was also agreed to by the House of Representatives (in H.Res 365). President George W. Bush has already promised to sign the bill. The bill requires all foreign travel documents, including passports, to contain a biometric feature that can be read by officials at all US ports-of-entry by the 26 October 2004. In the first instance, the requirement only affects ‘aliens’ seeking to enter the United States under the visa-waiver program if their passports were issued after October 2004. The governments of each visa-waiver country will have to comply if they wish to retain their Visawaiver status. They must have a programme in place that issues their nationals with tamper-proof machine-readable passports incorporating biometric identifiers that comply with standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Within the USA, the Bill will require all issued visas to include standardised biometric identifiers. Likewise, all ports of entry would have to have access to the hardware required to allow biometric comparison of all US visas and travel and entry documents issued to ‘aliens’, as well as the new passports. These moves will allow INS inspectors at ports of entry to determine whether a visa properly identifies a visa holder, as well as making visas harder to counterfeit. Additionally, through the installation of scanners at ports of entry, the INS will be able to track the arrival and departure of ‘aliens’ and generate a reliable measure of who is overstaying their visas.
The need to improve the US border control system has received increasing interest from policymakers in light of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. For example, on 7 January 2002, the Office of Homeland Security announced its "Specifics of Secure and Smart Border Action Plan" which lists "biometric identifiers" as its first priority. Similarly, President Bush, in his State of the Union Address on 29 January 2002, said: "We will...use technology to track the arrivals and departures of visitors to the United States." The well-known "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001" and other legislation also make reference to biometric technologies. As part of the assessment, the GAO convened two days of meetings in Washington, DC in late April 2002. These were attended by subject matter experts and public interest representatives to discuss technical, operational and policy implications of using biometrics for US border control. Speakers included Professor Anil Jain of Michigan State University, several industry representatives, and US Government officials, including the US Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and DARPA. The speakers addressed issues such as: • •
• •
which existing biometric technologies can work now for US border control; which existing biometric technologies can be used in combination with other biometric technologies for US border control; what is the outlook for future biometric technologies use in US border control activities; what is the potential for misuse of biometrics technologies.
Additional meetings will be held in mid-May 2002 to focus on privacy related concerns. Contact: John Woodward at RAND, Tel: +1 703 413 1100, Fax: +1 703 413 8111, email: [email protected]
Immigration Company news
GAO to study biometrics for border control applications The US Congress has asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to assess biometric technologies that can be used for US border control applications in the future. A major goal is to determine the policy aspects of using biometrics for such an application. The GAO study project is to be led by the GAO's Center for Technology and Engineering of the Applied Research and Methods Team.
Identix merger results in significant job losses The wait for more details on the Identix and Visionics merger is over, but the news is not good for the 120 employees that are likely to lose their jobs as a consequence. As long as the merger is successfully closed, the new company will retain the name Identix Incorporated and will be headquartered in Minnetonka, MN, USA. The job loses represent
Biometric Technology Today • May 2002
5/14/02
9:55 AM
Page 2
NEWS
Copyright Notice This newsletter and the individual contributions contained in it are protected under copyright by Elsevier Science Ltd, and the following terms and conditions apply to their use: Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier Science Rights & Permissions Department, PO Box 800, Oxford OX5 1DX, UK; tel: +44 (0)1865 843830, fax: +44 (0)1865 853333, e-mail: permissions@ elsevier.com. You may also contact Rights & Permissions directly through Elsevier’s home page (http://www.elsevier.nl), selecting first ‘Customer Support’, then ‘General Information’, then ‘Permissions Query Form’. In the USA, users may clear permissions and make payments through the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, USA; tel: 978 7508400, fax: +1 978 7504744, and in the UK through the Copyright Licensing Agency Rapid Clearance Service (CLARCS), 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P 0LP, UK; tel: +44 (0) 171 436 5931; fax: +44 (0)171 436 3986. Other countries may have a local reprographic rights agency for payments. Derivative Works Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of the publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution. Permission of the publisher is required for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations. Electronic Storage or Usage Permission of the publisher is required to store or use electronically any material contained in this journal, including any article or part of an article. Contact the publisher at the address indicated. Except as outlined above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the publisher. Address permissions requests to: Elsevier Science Rights & Permissions Department, at the mail, fax and e-mail addresses noted above. Notice No responsibility is assumed by the Publisher for any injury and/or damage to persons or property as a matter of products liability, negligence or otherwise, or from any use or operation of any methods, products, instructions or ideas contained in the material herein. Because of rapid advances in the medical sciences, in particular, independent verification of diagnoses and drug dosages should be made. Although all advertising material is expected to conform to ethical (medical) standards, inclusion in this publication does not constitute a guarantee or endorsement of the quality or value of such product or of the claims made of it by its manufacturer.
02265 Printed by Mayfield Press (Oxford) Ltd.
2
Immigration
Visa waiver countries set tight deadline by USA The many countries with a Visa-waiver arrangement to enter the USA have been set a tight deadline to introduce biometric identifiers into their national passports, following the approval of a Bill to enhance border security in the United States. The "Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2001," (S. 1749), sailed through the Senate and was also agreed to by the House of Representatives (in H.Res 365). President George W. Bush has already promised to sign the bill. The bill requires all foreign travel documents, including passports, to contain a biometric feature that can be read by officials at all US ports-of-entry by the 26 October 2004. In the first instance, the requirement only affects ‘aliens’ seeking to enter the United States under the visa-waiver program if their passports were issued after October 2004. The governments of each visa-waiver country will have to comply if they wish to retain their Visawaiver status. They must have a programme in place that issues their nationals with tamper-proof machine-readable passports incorporating biometric identifiers that comply with standards established by the International Civil Aviation Organization. Within the USA, the Bill will require all issued visas to include standardised biometric identifiers. Likewise, all ports of entry would have to have access to the hardware required to allow biometric comparison of all US visas and travel and entry documents issued to ‘aliens’, as well as the new passports. These moves will allow INS inspectors at ports of entry to determine whether a visa properly identifies a visa holder, as well as making visas harder to counterfeit. Additionally, through the installation of scanners at ports of entry, the INS will be able to track the arrival and departure of ‘aliens’ and generate a reliable measure of who is overstaying their visas.
The need to improve the US border control system has received increasing interest from policymakers in light of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001. For example, on 7 January 2002, the Office of Homeland Security announced its "Specifics of Secure and Smart Border Action Plan" which lists "biometric identifiers" as its first priority. Similarly, President Bush, in his State of the Union Address on 29 January 2002, said: "We will...use technology to track the arrivals and departures of visitors to the United States." The well-known "Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA PATRIOT ACT) Act of 2001" and other legislation also make reference to biometric technologies. As part of the assessment, the GAO convened two days of meetings in Washington, DC in late April 2002. These were attended by subject matter experts and public interest representatives to discuss technical, operational and policy implications of using biometrics for US border control. Speakers included Professor Anil Jain of Michigan State University, several industry representatives, and US Government officials, including the US Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and DARPA. The speakers addressed issues such as: • •
• •
which existing biometric technologies can work now for US border control; which existing biometric technologies can be used in combination with other biometric technologies for US border control; what is the outlook for future biometric technologies use in US border control activities; what is the potential for misuse of biometrics technologies.
Additional meetings will be held in mid-May 2002 to focus on privacy related concerns. Contact: John Woodward at RAND, Tel: +1 703 413 1100, Fax: +1 703 413 8111, email: [email protected]
Immigration Company news
GAO to study biometrics for border control applications The US Congress has asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to assess biometric technologies that can be used for US border control applications in the future. A major goal is to determine the policy aspects of using biometrics for such an application. The GAO study project is to be led by the GAO's Center for Technology and Engineering of the Applied Research and Methods Team.
Identix merger results in significant job losses The wait for more details on the Identix and Visionics merger is over, but the news is not good for the 120 employees that are likely to lose their jobs as a consequence. As long as the merger is successfully closed, the new company will retain the name Identix Incorporated and will be headquartered in Minnetonka, MN, USA. The job loses represent
Biometric Technology Today • May 2002