DHS wants to incorporate more cloud technology into its biometric database
The Department of Homeland Security wants to transition its massive biometric identity management system to more cloud-focused technology. Now, it’s seeking more information from vendors about their biometric capabilities as it tries to pursue that goal.
The request for information was published by the agency’s Office of Procurement Operations on behalf of the Office of Biometric Identity Management, which manages biometric identity profiles — including iris and facial data — for DHS components. The most prominent example, the RFI states, is the collection of biometric processes from immigration officers working at American posts and ports.
Overall, the database constitutes one of the world’s largest repositories of biometric data, with more than 260 million logged in the system.
Now, the biometric office is looking to move from IDENT, DHS’s current storage system for biometric information, to the Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology program, which is supposed to be a replacement and centralized database.
“This upgrade will shift from hardware-based matching to a cloud-based microservice architecture,” the SAM.gov posting notes. The agency is also hoping to work with biometrics standard organizations to ensure the upcoming version can support “additional modalities and stakeholders.”
The posting asks submitters to describe their approach to research, engineering, and prototyping for next-generation identity and discovery work. It also asks them to address biometric identity standards.
The posting, which first published a month ago but was updated this week, comes as DHS continues to explore and double down on biometric data. The deadline for responses to the RFI was extended by a week.
