Photo: FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced yesterday that the $1 billion, over six years of development, huge biometric face recognition software is finally up and running. With 52 million individual faces to be included in the program by next year, the Next Generation Identification (NGI) program might change everything security wise.
Imagine an enormous data base of millions of people’s mugshots captured by the national system on a daily basis, controlled by the FBI. The NGI will also have access to everything from tattoos to scars to a person’s irises. And all this for the federal authorities to reference them against its growing database in the event of a crime. In other words, if you go for a job that also requires your fingerprints or tattoos, for instance, that data will also be sent off to the government for processing.
But don’t you worry, it’s only a matter of time until you’ll be part of that list. Why? Well, according to FBI, the bureau is estimating that NGI will include as many as 52 million individual faces by next year, collecting identified faces from mug shots and some job applications.
Even though there is still room for improvements, considering not all the video cameras across the country have the needed resolution necessary for accurate facial recognition, that doesn’t mean the program is not working.
Neil Stammer, a fugitive who’s been on the run for 14 years, was actually caught in August, using the new facial recognition initiative. The man was arrested for child sex abuse and kidnapping, but was evading U.S. authorities since 1999. Cops managed to identify the criminal after he filled for a visa application to the US Embassy in Nepal, which was submitted under a false name. The picture of his application was compared with the data FBI already had and turned out to be the same.
Officially, the NGI system was developed to expand the Bureau’s biometric identification capabilities, ultimately replacing the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) while also adding new services and capabilities.
“The NGI team is introducing two new services: Rap Back and the Interstate Photo System (IPS). Rap Back is a functionality that enables authorized entities the ability to receive ongoing status notifications of any criminal history reported on individuals holding positions of trust, such as school teachers. Law enforcement agencies, probation and parole offices, and other criminal justice entities will also greatly improve their effectiveness by being advised of subsequent criminal activity of persons under investigation or supervision,” FBI explains in a press release.
We’re obviously looking at a system that brings a lot of controversy and some bad reactions among privacy advocates, but as long as the NGI program is only used to lower the criminality rate in U.S. it’s probably a game changer. Oh, and it will definitely be used for trouble-making drivers...
But don’t you worry, it’s only a matter of time until you’ll be part of that list. Why? Well, according to FBI, the bureau is estimating that NGI will include as many as 52 million individual faces by next year, collecting identified faces from mug shots and some job applications.
Even though there is still room for improvements, considering not all the video cameras across the country have the needed resolution necessary for accurate facial recognition, that doesn’t mean the program is not working.
Neil Stammer, a fugitive who’s been on the run for 14 years, was actually caught in August, using the new facial recognition initiative. The man was arrested for child sex abuse and kidnapping, but was evading U.S. authorities since 1999. Cops managed to identify the criminal after he filled for a visa application to the US Embassy in Nepal, which was submitted under a false name. The picture of his application was compared with the data FBI already had and turned out to be the same.
Officially, the NGI system was developed to expand the Bureau’s biometric identification capabilities, ultimately replacing the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) while also adding new services and capabilities.
“The NGI team is introducing two new services: Rap Back and the Interstate Photo System (IPS). Rap Back is a functionality that enables authorized entities the ability to receive ongoing status notifications of any criminal history reported on individuals holding positions of trust, such as school teachers. Law enforcement agencies, probation and parole offices, and other criminal justice entities will also greatly improve their effectiveness by being advised of subsequent criminal activity of persons under investigation or supervision,” FBI explains in a press release.
We’re obviously looking at a system that brings a lot of controversy and some bad reactions among privacy advocates, but as long as the NGI program is only used to lower the criminality rate in U.S. it’s probably a game changer. Oh, and it will definitely be used for trouble-making drivers...
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