Biometric Technology Spans All Services

Earlier this year, a DoD-wide data call requested by LTG Stephen Boutelle, Army Chief Information Officer/G-6, asked military components to report on biometric technology systems being “used or planning to be used.” This information, collected by the DoD Biometrics Management Office, provides a general summary of emerging biometric technologies. Though the findings are still preliminary, they do outline general trends.

Of the 83 currently deployed biometric systems reported, 27 are considered large. For the purposes of this data call, large biometric systems are categorized as DoD biometrics implementations having more than 200 enrollees (i.e., users or subjects) or more than $1 million total budgeted system costs and small biometric systems as any not defined as “large.”

The findings show that DoD-level and Joint organizations have deployed 9 large biometric systems, the Army has 8 large systems, the Air Force has 5 large systems and the Navy/Marine Corps has 5.

In addition, the information has been sorted by the following types and purposes of biometric application:

 

• Detainee ‘Red Force’ processing;
• Criminal and/or forensic investigation;
• Logical access (e.g., access to a computer system or network);
• Physical access (e.g., access to a door or gate);
• Identity background check;
• or other.

As the graphic above depicts, DoD large biometric systems are fairly evenly divided among four of the six defined biometric application categories: Red Force, criminal and forensic, logical access, and physical access. Each of these categories comprises roughly one-forth of DoD’s count of large biometric systems.

The most commonly used biometric modality is fingerprints, comprising 65 % of currently deployed DoD biometric systems reported. Thirteen systems, which include all nine of the red force biometric applications reported, plus four physical access applications, collect multiple forms of biometrics.

While the data call is not yet complete, John Woodward Jr., BMO director, said this information will help the Army, as the Executive Agent designated to ‘lead, consolidate and coordinate all biometrics for DoD,’ in the task of formalizing requirements for the technology and ensuring scalable biometric components are in place.