Leidos partners with UK Home Office to modernize critical biometrics system

Oct 2, 2019 | Luana Pascu

Leidos has been chosen by the UK Home Office to manage essential features in the country’s national biometrics systems used by law enforcement, immigration services, and border security, the company announced.

This is conducted under the Home Office Biometrics (HOB) Programme’s Strategic Central and Bureau Platforms project that strengthens the institution’s plan of further improving its biometrics systems to achieve a government-wide capacity and efficiency.

Biometrics are a key element in the country’s national security and public safety infrastructure. The Home Office currently deploys biometric detection for fingerprints, DNA, and facial recognition through IDENT1 for UK police forces and law enforcement, and Immigration and Asylum biometrics system (IABS). Under the ten-year contract, the Fortune 500 company will transition, operate and converge the core Central and Bureau elements of IDENT1 and IABS systems to remodel and disaggregate these systems. Leidos will improve the infrastructure by merging the two systems to a more secure and resilient cloud-based platform.

Leidos is not responsible with access changes to IABS and IDENT1.

“We look forward to working with the Home Office and its partners to deliver transformation across the key components of the Home Office Biometrics transformation programme,” said Tim Crofts, Leidos UK vice president of business development and strategy. “This capability is vital to the UK’s security, border and policing services and we will bring to bear our 50 years’ experience in delivering complex change to transform and secure critical services for government departments and agencies.”

In May, the UK Home Office was considering bids from several companies for its combined database of biometrics from police and immigration sources, and those suppliers were recommended to host the system on AWS. IBM, Leidos, and DXC Technology were among bidding companies for a project valued at some £300 million (roughly US$388 million).