1. A Critical Look at the Biometrics Community Today
and Into the Future
Duane Blackburn
Office of Science & Technology Policy
dblackbu@ostp.eop.gov

2. Disclaimer
The views discussed in this
presentation are that of the author,
and does not represent USG Policy.

3. Primary Driving Forces
• National Security
• Homeland Security and Justice
• eGovernment and enterprise security
• Information/Financial transactions

4. National Security
• Identification of past, existing, or potential threats
("red-force")
• Qualification of non-U.S. non-threat persons
("grey-force")
• Approval of U.S. non-threat (trusted) personnel
("blue-force")

5. Homeland Security and Justice
• US-VISIT
• IAFIS
• DOS Face
• Citizenship and Immigration Service’s Business
Transformation
• Transportation Worker Identity Card
• First responder identification
• Mobile Integrated Biometric Identification System

6. eGovernment and Enterprise Security
• eGovernment interfaces can occur between
government and
– Other government agencies
– Employees
– Businesses
– Citizens
• Enterprise security
– Anywhere authentication is needed

7. Information/Financial Transactions
• Banking
– In-bank services
– ATM
– Internet
– Telephone
• Point of Sale

8. Common Inhibitors
• Technology Advancement
• Standards & Conformance
• Test & Evaluation
• Data Sharing & System Integration
• Privacy Planning
• Outreach

9. Anticipated Benefits
• Availability of interoperable solutions that meet today’s
homeland and national security needs
• Large-scale entrance of biometric technologies into the
broader financial market
• Accelerated improvements in biometric capabilities
• Enhanced understanding of biometric system capabilities
and limitations, and integration with accepted privacy
principles
• More secure and economically competitive nation
• Increased competitiveness for American businesses and
products

10. Federal Role
• Identify obstacles that are keeping the biometrics community from
meeting public and private needs
• Encourage the evolution of the biometrics community to meet those
needs
• Provide resources and guidance to overcome those obstacles that the
community is unable to provide on their own
• Maximize efficiency and effectiveness of the federal R&D enterprise
by
– Planning biometric activities across the federal government to meet
interagency needs
– Selecting activities through competitive, peer-reviewed, award and review
processes
– Ensuring activities meet scientific and privacy-rights standards
• Promote a scientifically literate population and a supply of qualified
technical personnel commensurate with national needs
• Strengthen international partnerships that foster the advancement of
biometric technologies.