January 17, 2008

FBI Proposes Massive International Biometrics Database

Police in the U.K. are in talks with the FBI about establishing an international biometric database for tracking down the world's most wanted criminals and terrorists. The so-called "server in the sky" database would share criminals' biometric data, such as fingerprints and iris scans, internationally. The Washington Post reported last month that the FBI is spending $1 billion to develop the world's largest centralized biometrics database, a system the agency calls Next Generation Identification. The FBI suggested the database at a meeting of five countries--Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.K., and the U.S.--in the International Information Consortium technology group.

FBI takes biometrics database proposal to U.K., CNet News, January 16, 2008.