CYLIFE Interactive Media Consultancy

  • NEWSPAPER
    • DATABASE
  • NEPTUNE TV
    • TV Associates
    • TV ARCHIVE
  • ABOUT
  • SERVICES
    • MADSEKTOR LABEL
    • INTERNET
    • VIDEO PRODUCTION
    • DESIGN
    • MEDIA PLANNING
    • APPS
    • HARDWARE/SOFTWARE
    • SOCIAL MEDIA
    • SEMINARS
    • ADVERTISING
    • TELEPHONY
    • ΣΕΛΙΔΩΣΗ
    • e-PUBLISHING
    • TRANSLATIONS
  • UPDATES/ARTICLES
  • CONTACT
  • NEWSPAPER
    • DATABASE
  • NEPTUNE TV
    • TV Associates
    • TV ARCHIVE
  • ABOUT
  • SERVICES
    • MADSEKTOR LABEL
    • INTERNET
    • VIDEO PRODUCTION
    • DESIGN
    • MEDIA PLANNING
    • APPS
    • HARDWARE/SOFTWARE
    • SOCIAL MEDIA
    • SEMINARS
    • ADVERTISING
    • TELEPHONY
    • ΣΕΛΙΔΩΣΗ
    • e-PUBLISHING
    • TRANSLATIONS
  • UPDATES/ARTICLES
  • CONTACT

Afghanistan: Will fingerprint data point Taliban to targets?

20/8/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
​"We would go into villages and enrol people into this biometric data system," US Marine Special Operations Command veteran Peter Kiernan recalls.

"You had a device about 12 inches by six inches wide. It would scan their fingerprints, it would scan their retina, it would also take a picture of them."

It's been a busy week for Mr Kiernan. In Afghanistan, he was in charge of 12 local interpreters. Some are still in the country when we speak, and he's trying to help them leave.

For those who worked with US forces, leaving is a matter of urgency.

A United Nations document recently seen by the BBC says the Taliban are intensifying their hunt for people who worked for, and collaborated with, Nato and US forces.

And the giant stores of biometric data collected by both the US military and the Afghan government could, some argue, pose a risk to those facing reprisals.

Brian Dooley, a senior adviser to activist group Human Rights First, told the BBC's Tech Tent podcast that while very little was definitively known, "a very educated guess would say that [the Taliban] either has or is about to get their hands on an enormous amount of biometric data".

Using handheld devices called HIIDE (Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment), soldiers like Mr Kiernan would add the details of Afghans to a US biometric store.
He said it was useful in identifying bomb-makers, while it was also used to confirm the identities of contractors and locals working with the US military.

The original military ambition was to cover 80% of the population (25 million people) on the system, although the actual figure achieved is thought to be much less.

On Tuesday, news site the Intercept said military sources had told it that some HIIDE devices had fallen into Taliban hands, while Reuters reported a Kabul resident saying the Taliban were making house-to-house inspections using a "biometrics machine".

An Afghan official told NewScientist this biometric infrastructure was now in the hands of the Taliban.
Mr Kiernan thinks it is probable that the Taliban have access to some of the coalition's biometric data, but is uncertain whether they will have the technical know-how to exploit it.

And journalist and author Annie Jacobsen, who has researched military biometrics, thinks it is unlikely the Taliban could access large amounts of data gathered by the coalition, even if in possession of HIIDE machines.

She added that no data was shared in bulk with Afghan partners, in case "some corrupt official" was going to tip off possible criminals.

Data from HIIDE devices is not stored in Afghanistan, but in the Pentagon's Automated Biometrics Identification System, which Ms Jacobsen calls a "system of systems" because of its complexity.
She feels that on a practical level, social media may be an easier source of information for the Taliban.
The BBC has asked the US Department of Defense for comment.

Civilian data
The Afghan government has also used biometrics.
Afghanistan's National Statistics and Information Authority has processed more than six million applications for its e-Tazkira biometric identity card, which includes fingerprints, iris scans and a photograph.

Biometrics, including face recognition, were also used to check voter registration in 2019 elections.
The country even launched a register of businesses and plans to collect biometric data from students in madrassas.
In 2016, an Afghan broadcaster reported that the Taliban had used a biometric reader to identify bus passengers who were members of the security services in a violent ambush that claimed 12 lives.

BBC

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.


    PORTFOLIO
    ​&
    ARCHIVES


    All
    Alexia Vassiliou
    ATHLETIC CLUBS
    AUTOMOTIVE
    COFFFEE OUTLETS
    COMMUNICATIONS
    COSMETICS
    DANCE
    DEFENCE & ARMAMENTS
    EKATERINA POPOVA
    ELENI KONSTANTINOU
    ENTERTAINMENT
    GALATEIA CHARALAMBIDOU
    GYMS
    HEALTH
    INSURANCE
    KATE RADOJKOVIC
    LAW FIRMS
    LOGOS
    MULTIMEDIA
    MUSIC
    MUTLTIVENUE
    NEPTUNE TV
    ORGANISATIONS
    OUTLETS
    PRESS RELEASES
    PRODUCTION & RETAIL
    PUBLISHING
    SEA ENDEAVOURS
    SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOS
    SPECIAL PUBLICATIONS
    SPORTS
    STAVROS SIDERAS
    TECHNOLOGY
    TV11
    TV Ads
    VIKTORIA FORCE

    BY YEAR

    May 2022
    April 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    November 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    April 2015
    February 2015
    August 2014
    July 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2010
    February 2005
    July 2004
    June 2002
    March 2002
    June 1999
    June 1997

    Click to set custom HTML

    RSS Feed

Picture
Cylifenews.com Interactive Media Consultancy (Est. 1997)  All Rights Reserved 2022 ©