IAFIS Spawns Privacy Debate
Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was expected to announce the company it wants to build a new, modern database of fingerprints and other bio-information.
The bureau took its time, but eventually selected the expected winner, Lockheed Martin, on Tuesday. The FBI says their next-generation Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) will give the agency the ability to easily locate and share biometric data for anti-terrorism purposes. In its current guise, the IAFIS is impressive: fingerprints and records on more than 47 million people.
At a starting cost of $1 billion, the new IAFIS will undoubtedly sport considerable number-crunching firepower. We can expect iris scans, facial recognition and palm prints to be part of the new archive. So then, what exactly does the agency plan to include on the IAFIS? If the database is flexible, searchable and expandable, will agents soon be sifting through credit reports and Facebook profiles? Will IAFIS tie in with the RFID network of the Dept. of Homeland Security's infamous Real ID?
Probably not, but we have more interesting possibilities to consider. As genome sequencing instruments improve, genetic information may soon qualify as reliable, searchable biometric data. At some point, I feel, the FBI (already aware of the power of DNA evidence) will want to benefit from a rapidly expanding library of genetic profiles in an effort to confirm identities and chase terror suspects.
These are quality advances, but we can expect to deal with privacy debates of equally monumental proportions in the near future.
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