GAO pushes DOD to enforce biometric standards
04 May, 2011
category: Biometrics, Government
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a recommendation for the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to better their use of biometric technology.
As the DOD is budgeted to spend $3.5 billion on the technology between 2007 and 2015, the GAO was tasked with determining how much the DOD has taken standards and interoperability into account with the technology it is implementing as well as looking at the DOD policies on sharing biometric data with other federal government agencies.
Among the GAO findings were that while the DOD has standards for interoperability and sharing in place, it is not strictly enforced. Devices, such as those used to collect biometric by the Army, are incapable of transmitting data collected to agencies such as the FBI.
Since the GAO also discovered that the DOD has now proper process, procedure or timeline for implementation of recognized standards, they have recommended that certain officials such as the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics be tasked with implementing a process for updating devices and policies to conform to standards.
Additional recommendations include creating oversight for testing procedures, a clarification of roles for those involved in adherence to standards, reaching an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security and take steps to identify long-term biometric technology needs.