The Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) will approach industry for a solution for a multimodal biometric storage and matching system, following a landmark decision by the Department of Homeland Security, reports defense media.The (DHS) on Wednesday as expected approved a decision milestone allowing the Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM) to solicit industry for a solution, reports the Defense Daily. OBIM has repeatedly said in the past few years that it needs a new system to deal with a rising workload, and that a transition to a web-based services-oriented architecture is needed.DHS has said the best course of action is to develop a new biometric system to replace its aging front-line biometric ID system, the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT). OBIM began looking for a replacement last fall.IDENT stores and analyzes biometric data, digital fingerprints and photographs, and links that data with biographic information to match or verify the established identities. OBIM is a key federal provider of biometric data, providing customers with information on immigration violators, criminals and known or suspected terrorists. It also supports immigration management and border security decision makers.The current system is dealing with around 300,000 transactions a day (hitting a database of 205 million unique identities) in comparison to 220,000 (hitting a database of 150 million unique identities) in 2014.In March, the body released an RFI for Biometric Matching System Technologies.Meanwhile, a month earlier funding for vital biometric projects was covered as part of a budget authority of $40.6 billion for the Homeland Security Department in 2017.Specifically, $52.8 million was allocated toward expanding a replacement biometric identification system for DHS, notes the DHS budget in brief.”This project will provide DHS the next generation of biometric capture and identification technology, including iris and facial recognition in addition to fingerprints. Implementation of the replacement system will provide DHS agencies with additional identity confirmation options, helping to overcome operational challenges in the field when individuals cannot provide sufficient fingerprints,” said the budget in brief at the time.
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