4/1/2023 0 Comments Hiide biometrics![]() ![]() military in Iraq set the precedent for similar efforts in Afghanistan. ![]() ![]() In a May 2021 report, anthropologist Nina Toft Djanegara illustrates how the collection and use of biometrics by the U.S. ![]() Army’s Biometrics Task Force, HIIDE collected and matched fingerprints, iris images, facial photos and biographical contextual data of persons of interest against an internal database. Often described as the most secure method of verifying an individual’s identity, biometric data are being used by governments and organizations to verify and grant citizens and clients access to personal information, finances and accounts.Īccording to a 2007 presentation by the U.S. These include facial features, voice patterns, fingerprints or iris features. Building biometric databasesīiometric data, or simply biometrics, are unique physical or behavioural characteristics that can be used to identify a person. This development is the latest in many incidents that exemplify why governments and international organizations cannot yet securely collect and use biometric data in conflict zones and in their crisis responses. Military equipment and devices - including the collected data - are speculated to have been captured by the Taliban, who have taken over Afghanistan. Today, HIIDE provides access to a database of biometric and biographic data, including of those who aided coalition forces. Over time, for the sake of efficiency, the system came to include the data of Afghans assisting the U.S. government as a means to locate insurgents and other wanted individuals. The device, known as Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE), was initially developed by the U.S. While the Taliban had promised its citizens that it will, "protect their life, property, and honor and create a peaceful and secure environment", history tells us that ethnic groups and women are particularly at risk in the country.In 2007, the United States military began using a small, handheld device to collect and match the iris, fingerprint and facial scans of over 1.5 million Afghans against a database of biometric data. But the group has been quick to find allies in China and Pakistan and either could deploy personnel to crack the wealth of information stored in the databases. One could argue that the technologically backward Taliban might not have the expertise to access the databases. There are have been no confirmations if the US managed to destroy these databases. As designers and implementers of a biometrics-based recognition program, the US clearly hasn't done enough to prevent data misuse. However, deleting entries from biometric databases is beyond the ability of the locals. US-based human rights organization, Human Rights First, even released a guide in the local language, Farsi, detailing steps to delete digital histories from phones and other devices in the wake of Taliban control of the capital city, Reuters said. Reuters reported that the Taliban has already begun door-to-door searches looking for government officials, journalists, and even those who had worked with non-profits and human rights organizations, in the past. Now that the Taliban forces have access to these tools, they can simply repurpose them to identify who worked with the US forces and in what capacities. While the US forces remained on Afghan soil, HIIDE was also used to screen thousands of locals and to vet personnel wishing to work at US embassies and consulates, The Intercept reported. According to a recent NPR report, the Pentagon aimed to cover as many as 80 percent of the local population in its database. However, the plan soon began covering locals too, who were helping the forces gather intel, and soon, HIIDE became a tool to identify them as well. The US forces began collecting biometric data of Afghan locals in 2010 to document terrorists and help track insurgents. Called Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE), these devices hold sensitive information such as iris scans and fingerprints of many Afghani nationals, who worked with US-coalition forces, before their abrupt departure. Recently, The Intercept reported that the Taliban forces had seized military-grade biometric devices. ![]()
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