Government Industry Panel discusses Challenges in Biometrics Systems

The IJIS Institute will lead a new joint Government Industry Panel to discuss interoperability issues in biometric systems on July 28, 2012 at the IJIS Institute Summer Industry Briefing in Santa Ana Pueblo, New Mexico.

The panel is part of Biometrics Industry Government Standards and Interoperability Group (BIGSIG), a subcommittee of Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Programs Advisory Committee (CPAC). It aims to enhance biometric interoperability especially in areas that did not meet the standards or goals.

It will be led by Bruce Kelling of Athena, which provides network and system administration to mission critical agencies and is a long-time supporter of the IJIS Institute, and Vice-Chair Sudhi Umarji of Trusted Federal Systems, Inc., an IT integrator helping government agencies achieve a higher level of performance.

Key players from the government, standards organization, and leading biometrics companies were invited. Those invited from the government were representatives from the FBI, U.S. VISIT, National Security Agency, Department of State, Department of Defense (Biometrics Identity Management Agency) and state and local governments. For standards organizations, invitations included the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS), and the Joint Technical Committee 1 of the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission (ISO/IEC JTC 1). Representatives from leading biometric and technology companies were also invited.

Advancements in biometrics have played a major role in security and law enforcement. However, to improve information sharing, there is a need to intensify interoperability and standardization that cuts across multiple systems, applications, devices and biometrics. As multi-modal biometrics becomes the trend, there is all the more need for interoperability standards.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  homeland security  |  IJIS  |  law enforcement  |  national security  |  standards