Afghanistan collecting biometrics from all travelers
21 November, 2011
category: Biometrics, Government
Some countries collect fingerprint or other biometric data from visitors but Afghanistan is going a step further a collecting the data from everyone entering or departing Kabul International Airport, according to the New York Times.
Border officials plan on adding iris recognition as well. Biometrics are also being gathered by the American military at Afghanistan’s eight major border crossings as well. So far, that program gathers only random samples at border crossings, because traffic is so heavy, but it added 200,000 people since April.
The program builds on what the U.S. military started, gathering records on 2 million Afghans who have been encountered by soldiers in the field or who have applied for a job with the coalition military or its civilian contractors.
The biometric data is shared with the U.S. Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.
Read the full story here.