[Infowarrior] - FBI wants instant access to British identity data

[Richard Forno]

FBI wants instant access to British identity data


Americans seek international database to carry iris, palm and finger prints

Owen Bowcott
Tuesday January 15, 2008
The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/humanrights/story/0,,2241005,00.html
 

Senior British police officials are talking to the FBI about an
international database to hunt for major criminals and terrorists.

The US-initiated programme, "Server in the Sky", would take cooperation
between the police forces way beyond the current faxing of fingerprints
across the Atlantic. Allies in the "war against terror" - the US, UK,
Australia, Canada and New Zealand - have formed a working group, the
International Information Consortium, to plan their strategy.

Biometric measurements, irises or palm prints as well as fingerprints, and
other personal information are likely to be exchanged across the network.
One section will feature the world's most wanted suspects. The database
could hold details of millions of criminals and suspects.

The FBI is keen for the police forces of American allies to sign up to
improve international security. The Home Office yesterday confirmed it was
aware of Server in the Sky, as did the Metropolitan police.

The plan will make groups anxious to safeguard personal privacy question how
much access to UK databases is granted to foreign law enforcement agencies.
There will also be concern over security, particularly after embarrassing
data losses within the UK, and accuracy: in one case, an arrest for a terror
offence by US investigators used what turned out to be misidentified
fingerprint matches.

Britain's National Policing Improvement Agency has been the lead body for
the FBI project because it is responsible for IDENT1, the UK database
holding 7m sets of fingerprints and other biometric details used by police
forces to search for matches from scenes of crimes. Many of the prints are
either from a person with no criminal record, or have yet to be matched to a
named individual.

IDENT1 was built by the computer technology arm of the US defence company
Northrop Grumman. In future it is expected to hold palm prints, facial
images and video sequences. A company spokeswoman confirmed that Northrop
Grumman had spoken to the FBI about Server in the Sky. "It can run
independently but if existing systems are connected up to it then the
intelligence agencies would have to approve," she said.

The FBI told the Guardian: "Server in the Sky is an FBI initiative designed
to foster the advanced search and exchange of biometric information on a
global scale. While it is currently in the concept and design stages, once
complete it will provide a technical forum for member nations to submit
biometric search requests to other nations. It will maintain a core holding
of the world's 'worst of the worst' individuals. Any identifications of
these people will be sent as a priority message to the requesting nation."

In London, the NPIA confirmed it was aware of Server in the Sky but said it
was "too early to comment on what our active participation might be".

The FBI is proposing to establish three categories of suspects in the shared
system: "internationally recognised terrorists and felons", those who are
"major felons and suspected terrorists", and finally those who the subjects
of terrorist investigations or criminals with international links. Tom Bush,
assistant director at the FBI's criminal justice information service, has
said he hopes to see a pilot project for the programme up and running by the
middle of the year.

Although each participating country would manage and secure its own data,
the sharing of personal data between countries is becoming an increasingly
controversial area of police practice. There is political concern at
Westminster about the public transparency of such cooperation.

A similar proposal has emerged from the EU for closer security cooperation
between the security services and police forces of member states, including
allowing countries to search each other's databases. Under what is known as
the Prum treaty, there are plans to open up access to DNA profiles,
fingerprints and vehicle registration numbers.