National Biometrics Plan Countdown
The White House issued President Bush’s final Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD-24) on June 5, 2008. Entitled “Biometrics for Identification and Screening to Enhance National Security,” HSPD-24 provides a framework to align Federal executive departments and agencies in the “collection, storage, use, analysis, and sharing of biometric and associated biographic and contextual information of individuals.”
The PD tasks multiple agencies – led by the AG – with developing an implementation plan by June 2009. DHS has a significant stake in coordinating federal use of biometrics. DHS is the steward of the Biometric Storage System. DHS runs the Screening Coordination Office. DHS operates the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which conducts 135,000 national security background checks, including the collection of 11,000 sets of fingerprints, every day.
On Jan 27-28, 2009, NDIA convenes its Biometric Conference 2009, which is intended to bring together stakeholders (including federal implementers) to address challenges of successfully implementing HSPD-24, along the lines of the following:
• Policy development
• Existing and planned U.S. Government programs
• Examples of commercial application of biometrics to address mission critical business goals
• Enabling technologies
• Initiatives within the international community
• Challenges to achieving true interoperability and information sharing.
NDIA states that the conference’s goal is to develop a “mutual understanding and cardinal direction for possible solutions wherein jurisdiction gaps are closed, technologies are interoperable and policies are cohesive.”
For more one the conference, check out the agenda here.
