Reference no: EM133452273

Case Study: Biometric Databases Catch Criminals By the year 2021, the European Union will have a database of fingerprints, photographs for facial recognition, passport numbers and birth dates of all its 350 million citizens. Data that are measurements of a person's body, such as a photograph of their face, are known as biometric data. In the EU, the biometric database will be called CIR, for Common Identity Repository. The database will also allow searches of other databases to match citizens posing with multiple identities, which will aid border control and security agencies. Critics are concerned that with so much information in one database, it will be a target for security breaches.

With many agencies having shared access to the biometric database, there could be more exposure and risk to cybercrime and no entity, be it private or government, is invulnerable to security breaches. Although the United States does not have a country-wide biometric database such as the EU's CIR, law enforcement agencies around the country have access to various databases containing biometric data such as photographs. Many of these agencies are now using facial recognition software to search the database for a specific criminal. This searching is controversial because the US lacks most laws governing the use of searching databases for a facial match. For example, in the states of Maryland and Indiana, the police are allowed to search a database of driver's license photos to recognize a potential criminal, whereas in Oregon, only the database of mug shots is allowably searchable. Legally, driver's licenses photographs are not considered public record, which presents a dilemma to law enforcement.

In the spring of 2019, San Francisco banned the use of facial recognition by police and city agencies. Lawyers are beginning to weigh into the discussion. At the Georgetown Law Center of Privacy and Technology, a spokesperson, Ms. Garvie said "There is a fundamental absence of transparency around when and how police use face recognition technology. The risks of misidentification are substantial." (Bosman & Kovaleski, 2019) US citizens and lawyers are not the only groups to be concerned about the government's use of biometric databases. In 2019, the House of Representatives' House Oversight Committee has support from bipartisan groups to control the use of biometrics in government agencies.

Although the US might not have a domestic biometric database for law enforcement, other agencies are currently searching biometric databases to catch criminals. The US Department of Homeland Security has created a large bio-metric database called HART, short for Homeland Advanced Technical System. The biometrics in this database include facial photos, fingerprints, irises and other distinguishing features like tattoos. In addition, HART can share data from other agencies such as the FBI and the State Department.

The HART database is stored on Amazon's Web Ser-vices, AWS. Amazon serves the government's data storage needs through GovCloud. Other government agencies use GovCloud such as NASA, the CIA, and the Defense Department. GovCloud complies with all government regulation requirements and also commercial security and privacy standards. The physical databases are stored in different zones in the United States to ensure continuous data avail-ability and low latency. (Latency is the time it takes for data to travel from the data center to the user.) Each site has its own power supply including air-conditioning in a secured setting. Multiple copies of data are stored (redundancy). "The use of technology and data is becoming increasingly important to law enforcement," said Major Mike White, Assistant Chief of Staff with the Indiana State Police Department. "With advancements, come the need for secure connectivity and storage without draining the budget. Storage for databases, reports, and video are part of today's challenges for law enforcement technology managers. AWS is quickly becoming a go-to solution for technology needs that won't break the bank."(Business Wire, 2018).

Critical Thinking Questions:

1. Distinguish between the terms data management and data governance. How are biometric databases being managed and how are they being governed? What are the concerns in each segment?

2. Describe the ethical dilemma of using facial recognition by law enforcement agencies. If in the classroom, hold a debate of the pros and cons.

3. Research how criminals are discovered and arrested using a biometric database. Find one example and report on that. Cite your source. Research the ban on use of biometric databases in San Francisco in 2019, to include in your report.