International whistleblower website Wikileaks has revealed a CIA document that advises agency operatives on the risks posed by biometric entry requirements imposed by the European Union's Schengen visa agreement.In a secret CIA review designed to aid agents on covert operations, the agency explains what border officials are trained to look for in travellers, and specifically describes Schengen collection and useage of biometric data.”The European Union's Schengen biometric-based border-management systems pose a minimal identity threat to US operational travelers because their primary focus is illegal immigration and criminal activities, not counterintelligence,” wrote the CIA in the January 2012 review.However, it adds: “The identity threat for non-US-documented travelers required to obtain Schengen visas will increase as VIS [Visa Information System] is rolled out worldwide.”The EU plans to introduce biometric Schengen visas as part of the visa information system for Russians by April 2015, and the Chinese a month later, as part of a global roll-out of VIS by this summer.The CIA review notes: “VIS consists of a central system (C-VIS) and a communications infrastructure connected to the national systems (N-VIS) developed by each member state. Member states are responsible for connecting their embassies and consulates, border-crossing points, and other authorities to the central VIS via their national systems. An encrypted network is specifically dedicated to VIS data and the exchange of data between the central and national systems”..The review also appraises the risks to operatives of EURODAC, a fingerprint database that allows EU member states to identify asylum applicants, and FRONTEX, the EU agency responsible for making travel between member states easier. It writes that neither pose a significant threat.
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