Straight from the scripts of Hollywood Blockbusters like The Terminator and Minority Report comes the very real, very sophisticated, Next Generation Identification system, or NGI, from the FBI Biometric Center of Excellence. The new ten-year, billion dollar, multi-dimensional biometrics identification system launched last month will combine state-of-the-art iris scan, facial imaging, palm print, scar, and fingerprint identification technologies to solve crimes.

Advances in technology have made possible the NGI system, a fusion of biometric identification whose accuracy is vital at a time when document crime, identity theft, and terrorism-both domestic and foreign-are on the rise.

"NGI will give us bigger, better, faster capabilities and lead us into the future. We have added additional capabilities to our current system, and are working with the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, and the International law enforcement community in making our communities safer," said Thomas E. Bush, Assistant Director of the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division.

Designed and being constructed by Lockheed Martin, NGI is being designed to succeed the outdated Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) that went into effect in 1999. NGI will increase fingerprint storage capacity and speed up fingerprint processing times for high priority criminals, make room to include new tracking technologies like palm and iris scans, make photo retrieval easier, and contain  a special database of names of sexual offenders, wanted persons, and terrorists, information vital to U.S. armed forces and the DHS.

Once experimental technologies like voice, footprint, hand geometry, and gait recognition prove reliable, there are plans to implement them into NGI to create a multimodal biometric system. NGI will also be compatible with the old fingerprint ID system, other U.S. biometric systems, and potentially with foreign biometric systems to identify international terrorists.

While the field of biometrics includes the study, measure, and analysis of biological data, the FBI is using the science and technology of biometrics to enhance security in the U.S. Partnering with the FBI on the new ID system are the Criminal Justice Information Services and the National Crime Prevention and Privacy Compact Council, both of which represent local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies who would be primary users of the free NGI system.

But some privacy crusaders are worried the trade-off for powerful new security technologies will be individual privacy. Aware of the close watch of the American Civil Liberties Union and privacy activists who could find intrusive the amount of personal information law enforcement can store and collect on private citizens, the FBI website issued a sort of disclaimer. The site maintains that while additional biometric data will be collected from criminals and terrorists, the NGI system is neither expanding the categories of people from whom they collect data nor changing any legal authorities to cater to the system.

"There is no intent in biometrics-and we're not authorized-to take biometrics from people we haven't already [taken biometrics from], said Assistant Director Bush. "And by the use of biometrics, you can protect the innocent better."

According to the site, the FBI is now performing Privacy Impact Assessments to see what information can be collected and how it can be shared without infringing on individual privacy. A diagram of the system shows two firewalls in place for every search that will prevent internet-hackers from exploiting the system.

"The privacy and security of the system is extremely important and we have to ensure the relationship with privacy advocacy groups, and make sure it's not accessible to unauthorized persons," Bush said.

Privacy-protection is also extended to those who fear a one-time minor offense will land them in the FBI's biometric vault until the end of time and haunt their employment record until Social Security kicks in. To this, Bush said that individuals who have court-ordered expungements will have their DNA or other information permanently deleted from FBI records. A "nice to know," but it certainly seems like a lot of work to have your own information removed.

Have we finally entered into the era of Big Brother? It certainly seems eerily close. Even logging onto the FBI website will leave you vulnerable to preying eyes. The privacy policy on the website informed OhMyGov! that when we logged on, our IP address, type of browser, and operating system was traced and recorded, as was the time, date, pages we visited, and even the website we connected to the FBI from. Is this what government transparency means?

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