FBI aims for world's largest biometrics database
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The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion project to build the world's largest computer database of biometrics to give the U.S. government more ways to identify people at home and abroad, the Washington Post reported on Friday.
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A test project, now in use at Reagan National Airport, aims to give frequent fliers a quicker pass through security checkpoints by using the latest biometric technologies -- such as eye scans -- to verify a passenger's identity.
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The FBI's Internet wiretaps after retiring "Carnivore" appear to involve compiling massive databases of information on thousands of users at a time.
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By Robert Verkaik Law Editor  Google, the world's biggest search engine, is setting out to create the most comprehensive database of personal information ever assembled, one with the ability to tell people how to run their lives.
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Big companies exploring ways to verify identities online
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Scientists plan to map the DNA of 1,000 people worldwide to examine human genetic variation
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CLARKSBURG, W. Va. -- The FBI is embarking on a $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a project that would give the government unprecedented abilities to identify individuals in the United States and abroad.
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An on-line database containing the career and contact details of over 22 million business people can be edited by anyone.
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Interpol and 20 national police forces launched history's biggest disaster victim identification system Tuesday to unravel the mesh of forensic data from the bodies of more than 5,000 tsunami dead in Thailand.
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The University of California, Los Angeles, reports one or more computer hackers have accessed a database containing the personal information of 800,000 people.  The school said the central campus database was accessed between October 2005 and Nov.
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Sensing devices smaller than a shirt button. Databases that could track car bombers to their sources. Constant surveillance of tens of thousands of kilometers to pick out moving targets as small as a man.
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Hitachi is working on a biometric device that could scan different fingers for different authorizations, such as starting a car, adjusting its seat and even authorizing payments.
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The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is getting a boost in its campaign to go after corporate tax evaders. It will soon be able to tap the huge database of corporate financial documents
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Emerging technology uses a printer's fingerprint to trace and verify documents.
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Fujitsu's new palm-vein biometric security scanner is designed to control computer access in corporate environments.
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(InfoWorld) - Germany will store digital fingerprints in addition to digital photos in passports as one of several biometric security measures planned toÂ fight organized crime and international terrorism. All new passports issued from November will store two digital fingerprints in an embedded chip, which, since 2005, includes a digital photo, the German Federal Ministry of the Interior said Friday. While fingerprints will be stored exclusively in passport chips, photos will continue to be saved additionally in databases of local authorities. A new amendment gives police and other authorized government officials online access to these databases. Unlike several other countries in Europe and abroad, Germany has no central database for photos or fingerprints of all citizens or for registered foreigners living in the country, and currently lacks plans to establish one, according to a ministry spokeswoman. Centralized data, including photos and fingerprints, exists only for people registered with the police for criminal activity, and for applicants for German visas. Only readers equipped with a new cryptographic protocol can read the passports including both photos and fingerprints. The Extended Access Control system connects the chip and the reader by establishing a secure communications channel over a distance of 10 centimeters to 20 centimeters. Moves by the German government to digitize increased levels of personal data and link databases among authorities have led to an outcry by some groups, including federal and state data privacy commissioners. At a meeting in DÃ¼sseldorf on Friday, the commissioners criticized the government's programs that amass personal data, including telephone records, and its plans to give greater power to police officials to monitor terrorists and other criminals online by allowing them to hack into computers. In 2008, the German government plans new ID cards for all citizens with the same biometric features, according to the spokeswoman. "There are three primary reasons to issue biometric ID cards: to avoid false IDs, strengthen the identification process and also offer an authorization possibility for services such as online purchases," she said. By 2010, Germany hopes to have a new central database containing core data about each citizen and registered inhabitant of the country, according to the spokeswoman. The data includes name, birthday and address but will not contain a photo or fingerprints, she said. In February, the government passed a law allowing security officials in the country to create theÂ largest and most comprehensive pool of personal dataÂ ever amassed in the country. The databases of nearly 40 different agencies, including the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) and the Federal Intelligence Service (BND), are now being linked to allow authorities to run searches on suspected individuals and retrieve information within minutes. An expanded index file is being created for suspected terrorists. The file will contain the person's name, bank account number, telephone number, e-mail address, driver's license information and other data, including the names of companies, organizations and other parties associated with the person and linked to terrorist groups. Since the start of this week, law enforcement officials in Germany and Austria have electronic access to each other's criminal fingerprint databases. Since 2006, the countries have shared their DNA databases as one of several measures agreed by some European Union nations under the Treaty of PrÃ¼m in 2005. Â
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Portable hard drives from Apricorn, Logitech, and Microsoft use both fingerprint recognition and data encryption technologies.