February 13, 2008, 10:43 AM — The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has awarded Lockheed Martin a US$1
billion contract to build a next-generation biometrics-based identification
system.
The biometric collection system and database, which has raised concerns of
privacy groups, would include imaging of irises, faces and other identifying
characteristics, the FBI said in a news release late Tuesday. Lockheed Martin
will design, develop, test and deploy the Next Generation Identification System
over the 10-year life of the contract.
The new system will expand on the FBI Criminal Justice Information Services
Division's Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), primarily
a fingerprint-based identification system operated in Clarksburg, West Virginia,
the FBI said.
"IAFIS has been a fantastic tool in support of criminal justice and the
war on terror," Thomas E. Bush III, assistant director of the FBI's CJIS
Division, said in a statement. "[The new system] will give us bigger, better,
faster capabilities and lead us into the future."
The American Civil Liberties Union has raised concerns about the biometric
database, saying it's part of the U.S. government's efforts to collect more
and more information about residents.
The new system will expand fingerprint capacity, doubling the size of the FBI's
current database, and will also include palm prints, iris and facial recognition,
Lockheed Martin said in a news release. The system will be designed to be flexible
enough to accommodate future biometric technologies, the company said.
Among the companies working with Lockheed Martin on the contract will be Accenture
and BAE Systems Information Technology.
Lockheed Martin will provide program management and oversight as well as development
of biometric and large systems, the company said. Accenture's responsibilities
will include interoperability and change management. BAE will work on external
interface requirements engineering and security design.
The FBI contract was awarded through an open bidding process. Northrop Grumman
and IBM also bid on the contract.
