Biometrics

SIBIOS: Argentina’s Massive, Orwellian Biometric Database

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–  Meet SIBIOS: Argentina’s Massive, Orwellian Biometric Database (Liberty Blitzkrieg, Oct 21, 2013):

Two years ago, the UK dismantled their national ID scheme and shredded their National Identity Registry in response to great public outcry over the privacy-invasive program. Unfortunately privacy protections have been less rosy elsewhere. In Argentina, the national ID fight was lost some time ago. A law enacted during the military dictatorship forced all individuals to obtain a government-mandated ID. Now, they are in the process of enhancing its mandatory National Registry of Persons (RENAPER) with biometric data such as fingerprints and digitized faces. The government plans to repurpose this database in order to facilitate “easyaccess” to law enforcement by merging this data into a new, security-focused integrated system. This raises the specter of mass surveillance, as Argentinean law enforcement will have access to mass repositories of citizen information and be able to leverage existing facial recognition and fingerprint matching technologies in order to identify any citizen anywhere.

– From the EFF’s must read article: Biometrics in Argentina: Mass Surveillance as a State Policy

The above passage was written in early 2012, but I had never taken the time to look into Argentina’s burgeoning and extremely creepy biometric database until now. It takes on increased importance to Americans now that Apple has rolled out its iPhone 5NsA.

Don’t worry though, Apple is a private company and they’d never work with the NSA or anything…

The video below is the promotional video of the Biometric ID Database in Argentina, and is an epic example of state propaganda.

Because the Argentine government has such a storied history of doing the right thing…In Liberty,
Mike

MasterCard Joining Push For Fingerprint ID Standard

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Related info:

– Hackers Breach iPhone 5S Fingerprint Security

– MasterCard joining push for fingerprint ID standard (USA Today, Oct 2, 2013):

The addition of MasterCard will help FIDO expand its standard to more types of transactions. The company’s experience handling the multitude of existing payments industry standards will also be valuable.

SAN FRANCISCO — MasterCard is joining the FIDO Alliance, signaling that the payment network is getting interested in using fingerprints and other biometric data to identify people for online payments.

MasterCard will be the first major payment network to join FIDO. The Alliance is developing an open industry standard for biometric data such as fingerprints to be used for identification online. The goal is to replace clunky passwords and take friction out of logging on and purchasing using mobile devices.

Apple’s new iPhone 5s smartphone has a fingerprint sensor, but the tech giant is not part of FIDO. However, Google is part of the Alliance, and devices running Google’s Android operating system will have fingerprint sensors by next year.

Read moreMasterCard Joining Push For Fingerprint ID Standard

Fascist Mayor Michael Bloomberg Seeks Mandatory Fingerprinting For NYC Public Housing Residents

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– Bloomberg seeks mandatory fingerprinting for NYC public housing residents (RT, Aug 17, 2013):

The 620,000 residents living in public housing projects should be fingerprinted as a crime-prevention measure, said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, but many city residents protest that the proposal is an invasion of privacy.

Bloomberg, 71, who has acquired a reputation for promoting controversial ideas, including imposing a ban on the sale of large soft drinks, says his latest proposal will make public housing safer.

“The people that live (in public housing), most of them, want more police protection,” the three-time mayor said on his weekly WOR radio broadcast Friday. “They want more people. If you have strangers walking in the halls of your apartment building, don’t you want somebody to stop and say: ‘Who are you, why are you here?’”

He added: “What we really should have is fingerprinting to get in, since there’s an allegation that some of the apartments aren’t occupied by the people who originally have the lease.”

Just 5 percent of New York’s population lives in public housing, but 20 percent of the city’s reported crime is committed by residents of government-subsidized housing projects, Bloomberg said.

“We’ve just got to find some way to keep bringing crime down there.”

Read moreFascist Mayor Michael Bloomberg Seeks Mandatory Fingerprinting For NYC Public Housing Residents

Florida: Schools Scanned Students’ Irises Without Permission

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– Schools scanned students’ irises without permission (RT, May 30, 2013):

Parents in Polk County, Florida are outraged after learning that students in area schools had their irises scanned as part of a new security program without obtaining proper permission.

Students at three facilities — an elementary school, a grade school and a high school — had their eyeballs scanned earlier this month as part of a ‘student safety’ pilot program being carried out by Stanley Convergent Security Solutions.

“It simply takes a picture of the iris, which is unique to every individual,” Rob Davis, the school board’s senior director of support services, wrote home to parents in a letter dated May 23. “With this program, we will be able to identify when and where a student gets on the bus, when they arrive at their school location, when and what bus the student boards and disembarks in the afternoon. This is an effort to further enhance the safety of our students. The EyeSwipe-Nano is an ideal replacement for the card based system since your child will not have to be responsible for carrying an identification card,” he added.

Read moreFlorida: Schools Scanned Students’ Irises Without Permission

Hidden In The Immigration Reform Bill: National Biometric Database Of All Adult Americans

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– Guess What’s Hidden in the Immigration Bill? A National Biometric Database for Citizens (Liberty  Blitzkrieg, May 10, 2013):

Oh just another eight hundred page “bipartisan” bill that nobody will read,  mainstream media will refuse to cover, and that will merely further destroy any remnants of freedom left in these United States.  Never forget the George Carlin quote on bipartisanship:

“Bipartisan usually means that a larger-than-usual deception is being carried out.”

From Wired:

The immigration reform measure the Senate began debating yesterday would create a national biometric database of virtually every adult in the U.S., in what privacy groups fear could be the first step to a ubiquitous national identification system.

Buried in the more than 800 pages of the bipartisan legislation (.pdf) is language mandating the creation of the innocuously-named “photo tool,” a massive federal database administered by the Department of Homeland Security and containing names, ages, Social Security numbers and photographs of everyone in the country with a driver’s license or other state-issued photo ID.

This piece of the Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act is aimed at curbing employment of undocumented immigrants. But privacy advocates fear the inevitable mission creep, ending with the proof of self being required at polling places, to rent a house, buy a gun, open a bank account, acquire credit, board a plane or even attend a sporting event or log on the internet. Think of it as a government version of Foursquare, with Big Brother cataloging every check-in.

“It starts to change the relationship between the citizen and state, you do have to get permission to do things,” said Chris Calabrese, a congressional lobbyist with the American Civil Liberties Union. “More fundamentally, it could be the start of keeping a record of all things.”

Read moreHidden In The Immigration Reform Bill: National Biometric Database Of All Adult Americans

Palm-Scanning Technology Is Popping Up Nationwide, Gets Thumbs Up In Schools, Hospitals

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– Palm scanners get thumbs up in schools, hospitals (USA Today, Nov 25, 2012):

At schools in Pinellas County, Fla., students aren’t paying for lunch with cash or a card, but with a wave of their hand over a palm scanner.

“It’s so quick that a child could be standing in line, call mom and say, ‘I forgot my lunch money today.’ She’s by her computer, runs her card, and by the time the child is at the front of the line, it’s already recorded,” says Art Dunham, director of food services for Pinellas County Schools.

Students take about four seconds to swipe and pay for lunch, Dunham says, and they’re doing it with 99% accuracy.

“We just love it. No one wants to go back,” Dunham says.

Palm-scanning technology is popping up nationwide as a bona fide biometric tracker of identities, and it appears poised to make the jump from schools and hospitals to other sectors of the economy including ATM usage and retail. It also has applications as a secure identifier for cloud computing.

Read morePalm-Scanning Technology Is Popping Up Nationwide, Gets Thumbs Up In Schools, Hospitals

Fingerprint Scans Create Unease For Poor Parents

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– Fingerprint Scans Create Unease For Poor Parents (NPR, Nov 20, 2012):

Some Mississippi parents are learning a new routine when they drop their kids off at day care centers that are taking part in a new pilot program aimed at combating fraud and saving the state money.

Under the program, the state scans parents’ fingerprints to capture biometric information, and that information is turned into a number. Then, at a day care center, parents dropping off or picking up their kids put their fingers on a pad, and a small keyboard records the exact time a child is checked in or out.

But only the parents of kids who receive subsidized child care have to do the scans, and the program is roiling some parents and day care workers.

Read moreFingerprint Scans Create Unease For Poor Parents

California Gets Face Scanners To Spy On Everyone At Once

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See also:

– FBI Begins Installation Of $1 Billion Face Recognition System Across America

– Secret, Beyond Facial Recognition Surveillance Technology ALREADY INSTALLED Across the US

– California gets face scanners to spy on everyone at once (RT, Nov 21, 2012):

In a single second, law enforcement agents can match a suspect against millions upon millions of profiles in vast detailed databases stored on the cloud. It’s all done using facial recognition, and in Southern California it’s already occurring.

Imagine the police taking a picture: any picture of a person, anywhere, and matching it on the spot in less than a second to a personalized profile, scanning millions upon millions of entries from within vast, intricate databases stored on the cloud.

It’s done with state of the art facial recognition technology, and in Southern California it’s already happening.

Read moreCalifornia Gets Face Scanners To Spy On Everyone At Once

London 2012 Olympic Games: Biometric Scans For All Overseas Games Athletes

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Flashback:

– Iran Threatens to Boycott London Olympics Over ‘Racist’ Logo Resembling The Word ZION

– Dr. Alan Sabrosky, Former Director Of Studies At The US Army War College: ‘It Is 100% Certain That 9/11 Was A Mossad Operation’ (Video)

UK launches international operation to gather information on Olympic participants and coaches

– Biometric scans for all overseas Games athletes (Independent, Feb. 12, 2012):

More than 10,000 Olympic athletes and their coaches are having fingerprints and face-scans taken by UK officials around the world in the biggest operation of its type to prevent the London Games being targeted by illegal immigrants or terrorists.

Ministers fear that besides the vast numbers of genuine “Games family members (GFMs)” – not only an estimated 10,500 athletes but their training teams, accredited media and officials – would-be terrorists or illegal immigrants could use the influx of people at Heathrow in the days before the Games start on 27 July to get into Britain.

A temporary terminal at Heathrow is already being built to try to take the strain of the 20,000 accredited people as well as millions of ticketholders and visitors.

The Government is to step up the national terror threat to “severe” during the 16-day Games, meaning an attempted attack is highly likely.

Read moreLondon 2012 Olympic Games: Biometric Scans For All Overseas Games Athletes

Air Force’s Chief Scientist Wants A ‘Social Radar’ To ‘See Into Hearts And Minds’

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You can’t make this stuff up!

– Air Force’s Top Brain Wants a ‘Social Radar’ to ‘See Into Hearts and Minds’ (Wired, Jan. 19, 2012):

Chief Scientists of the Air Force usually spend their time trying to figure out how to build better satellites or make jets go insanely fast. Which makes Dr. Mark Maybury, today’s chief scientist, a bit of an outlier. He’d like to build a set of sensors that peer into people’s souls — and forecast wars before they erupt.

Maybury calls his vision “Social Radar.” And the comparison to traditional sensors is no accident, he tells Danger Room. “The Air Force and the Navy in this and other countries have a history of developing Sonar to see through the water, Radar to see through the air, and IR [infrared] to see through the night. Well, we also want to see into the hearts and the minds of people,” says Maybury, who serves as the top science advisor to the Air Force’s top brass.

But Social Radar won’t be a single sensor to discover your secret yearnings. It’ll be more of a virtual sensor, combining a vast array of technologies and disciplines, all employed to take a society’s pulse and assess its future health. It’s part of a broader Pentagon effort to master the societal and cultural elements of war — and effort that even many in the Defense Department believe is deeply flawed. First step: mine Twitter feeds for indications of upset.

Read moreAir Force’s Chief Scientist Wants A ‘Social Radar’ To ‘See Into Hearts And Minds’

Urgent: Food Stamps To Be Ended Unless Microchipped!

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For your information.

“They have taken the bridge and the second hall. We have barred the gates but cannot hold them for long. The ground shakes, drums… drums in the deep. We cannot get out. A shadow lurks in the dark. We can not get out… they are coming.”
– Gandalf (reading)


PowerVideoTube

– Urgent Food Stamps To Be Ended Unless Microchipped (YouTube)

EU Mulls Smart Biometric Borders

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– EU mulls smart biometric borders (Planet Biometrics, Oct. 27, 2011):

The European Commission has adopted a Communication which sets out the main options for using new technologies, such as biometrics, to simplify life for foreigners frequently travelling to the EU and to better monitor third-country nationals crossing the borders.

Enabling smooth and fast border crossing for travellers, while ensuring an adequate level of security, is a challenge for many Member States. Every year more than 700 million EU citizens and third country nationals cross the EU’s external borders. This number is expected to rise significantly in the future. By 2030 the number of people at European airports could increase by 80%, which will result in longer delays and queues for travellers if border checking procedures are not modernised in time.

“The Union must continue to modernise the management of its external borders and ensure that the Schengen area is better equipped to cope with future challenges”, said Cecilia Malmström, Commissioner for Home Affairs. “The ‘Smart Borders’ initiative would speed up border crossing for regular travellers but could also help us to better secure our external borders. We now need to make sure that the most efficient systems are in place and I am looking forward to discussing the available options with the European Parliament, the Council and the European Data Protection Supervisor”.

The ‘Smart Borders’ initiative would consist of:

Read moreEU Mulls Smart Biometric Borders

Florida School District is Taking Attendance by Scanning Students’ Fingers

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Roll Call, via Fingerprint bcymet via Flickr

– A Florida School District is Taking Attendance by Scanning Students’ Fingers (POPSCI, Oct. 6, 2011):

Roll call is going high-tech in Washington County, Fla. Rather than the usual name calling and response, students are now checking into class with finger scanning devices. And to keep better track of students from the minute they come under district supervision until they are delivered safely home again, the scanners are now moving from the school building to the school bus.

The systems have been active inside Washington County schools for roughly two months, but since most of the students in the district ride the bus anyhow, officials have decided the best place for the scanners is on the buses themselves. In the next week, a handful of buses will get the scanners. If the system proves worthwhile, all buses will have them by semester’s end.

At $30 per student per year, the system isn’t necessarily cheap. But considering the uptick in attendance (which means more money from the state in many districts) and the inherent increase in accountability and student safety, it may well be worth the cost. And naturally, parents who don’t want their children fingerprinted coming to and from school for whatever reason can opt to have their kids check in with their teachers in a more analog fashion.

[WJHG]

UK Police To Carry Out On-The-Spot Fingerprinting In The Street Even For Minor Traffic Offences

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– Police to carry out on-the-spot fingerprinting in the street even for minor traffic offences (Daily Mail, August 1, 2011):

Police are now armed with a device that can scan fingerprints so they can correctly identify suspects who lie about their details.

In what sounds like something out of George Orwell’s dystopia 1984, suspects can now be finger printed in the street thanks to the new hand-held police gadget.

The mobile identification service scans a print, then checks it by trawling through a national database for the details.

But police insist they do not retain the print afterwards.

Read moreUK Police To Carry Out On-The-Spot Fingerprinting In The Street Even For Minor Traffic Offences

Video Of ‘MORIS’ Face-Recognizing iPhone Tech Which Police Across The Nation Will Roll Out This Year

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Don’t miss:

– Police Across The Nation Will Roll Out Face-Recognizing iPhone Tech This Year (POPSCI, July 14, 2011):


YouTube

Demonstrates the use of MORIS – the first of its kind mobile multi-modal biometric recognition device based on the iPhone. It is utilizing iris recognition in addition to face and fingerprint. For more information, please visit: http://www.bi2technologies.com/MORIS

Police Across The Nation Will Roll Out Face-Recognizing iPhone Tech This Year

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– Amid Privacy Fears, Police Across the Nation Will Roll Out Face-Recognizing iPhone Tech This Year (POPSCI, July 14, 2011):

A controversial piece of facial recognition technology (and a PopSci “Best of What’s New 2010” alum) is rolling out in police stations across the country this fall, and naturally not everyone is happy about it. The Mobile Offender Recognition and Identification System (MORIS) uses an augmented iPhone to snap pictures of faces, scan fingerprints, and even to image irises, and then combs through police databases looking for matching identities. This, understandably, has privacy and civil liberties advocates crying foul.

The MORIS device attaches to the back of an iPhone, adding roughly 1.75 inches to the thickness of the smartphone. Police officers armed with the tool can take a photo of a person’s face from about five feet away, or scan his or her iris from about six inches, and wirelessly beam that data to law enforcement databases elsewhere to look for a match. It can also perform remote fingerprint matching.

Similar biometric technology has been deployed by the U.S. military in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to confirm the identities of civilians entering military safe zones and to search for known insurgents at checkpoints. But rolling it out in the streets of the U.S. has plenty of people concerned with privacy and Constitutional issues.

Read morePolice Across The Nation Will Roll Out Face-Recognizing iPhone Tech This Year

California: Biometric Identification And Automatic Immigration Check For Anyone Arrested

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See also:

– DHS Portable DNA Analyzer

There are advantages and disadvantages of biometric security measures from both a technical and a social perspective.

As of last week, any person arrested and fingerprinted in California will now undergo an automatic immigration check. Biometric security measures are in widespread use, yet many issues are still debated – including privacy concerns. In this article, we are going to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of biometric security measures from both a technical and a social perspective.

California became the ninth state in which each county has activated Secure Communities, a fingerprint data-sharing program between local law enforcement offices and federal immigration enforcement agencies. Other states with complete activation include Texas, West Virginia, Florida, Arizona, Delaware, Virginia, Wisconsin and New Mexico.

Read moreCalifornia: Biometric Identification And Automatic Immigration Check For Anyone Arrested

Mexico to Become First Country To Use Iris Scans On ID cards

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Mexico will on Monday become the first country to start using iris scans for identity cards, according to the government.


Iris recognition is increasingly used in airports, controlling access to restricted areas, and prisoner booking and release Photo: GETTY

The documents, which will include the eye’s image as well as fingerprints, a photo and signature, will be 99 per cent reliable, according to Felipe Zamora, who is responsible for legal affairs at the Mexican interior ministry.

“The legal, technical and financial conditions are ready to start the process of issuing this identity document,” Felipe Zamora, responsible for legal affairs at the Mexican Interior Ministry, told journalists Thursday.

Critics, including the National Human Rights Commission, have criticised the system, expressing concern that compiling personal data could violate individual rights.

The move will be introduced gradually, with some 28 million minors taking part in a first two-year stage, due to cost $25 million (£15.6 million).

Read moreMexico to Become First Country To Use Iris Scans On ID cards

AIRPrint Biometric Security System Reads Fingerprints Up to 2 Meters Away

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While ears may be the new biometric du jour, Advanced Optical Systems (AOS) is doing its best to keep fingerprints as the preferred method for identifying enemies of the state.

The company has built a fingerprint scanner with the ability to accurately read a print up to two meters away, and our military views the system as a means to reduce the risk to soldiers at security checkpoints all over the world.

The AIRPrint system is a significant upgrade over previous biometric security systems because it allows a person’s identity to be confirmed by military personnel from behind the safety of a blast wall or armored vehicle, which keeps our serviceman out of harm’s way.

AIRPrint uses a source of polarized light and two 1.3 megapixel cameras (one to receive vertically polarized light and another to receive horizontally polarized light) in order to produce an accurate fingerprint.

Read moreAIRPrint Biometric Security System Reads Fingerprints Up to 2 Meters Away

Arizona City to Require Fingerprinting at Pharmacies

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…. to target fraud. Sure!

Plan to require fingerprinting to pick up certain prescriptions targets fraud

Peoria could become the first Arizona city to require fingerprinting at pharmacies when picking up prescriptions for commonly abused drugs in an effort to curb an escalating number of fraud cases.

Peoria law-enforcement officials this month proposed an ordinance that would require anyone filling prescriptions for drugs such as OxyContin and Percocet to show ID and be fingerprinted at the pharmacy counter, including anyone picking up a prescription for a family member or friend.

Peoria City Attorney Steve Kemp said the proposal could provide better evidence to prosecute cases.

Dan Pochoda, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, called it an “overreaction.”

“This raises serious concerns about intrusion of privacy,” Pochoda said.

Read moreArizona City to Require Fingerprinting at Pharmacies

EU Tells Britain to Justify Fingerprinting Children in Schools Without Parental Consent

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The European Commission has demanded Britain justifies the widespread and routine fingerprinting of children in schools because of “significant concerns” that the policy breaks EU privacy laws.


The commission has taken up the case of a father who has battled education authorities because his daughter’s fingerprints were taken without permission Photo: ALAMY

The commissioner is also concerned that parents are not allowed legal redress after one man was told he could not challenge the compulsory fingerprinting, without his permission, of his daughter for a “unique pupil number”.

In many schools, when using the canteen or library, children, as young as four, place their thumbs on a scanner and lunch money is deducted from their account or they are registered as borrowing a book.

Research carried out by Dr Emmeline Taylor, at Salford University, found earlier this year that 3,500 schools in the UK – one in seven – are using fingerprint technology.

EU data protection rules, Brussels legislation that overrides British law, requires that the gathering of information such as biometric fingerprints, must be “proportionate” and must allow judicial challenges.

“We should be obliged if you could provide us with additional information both regarding the processing of the biometric data of minors in schools, with particular reference to the proportionality and necessity in the light of the legitimate aims sought to be achieved, and the issue concerning the availability of judicial redress,” said the letter, seen by The Daily Telegraph.

Read moreEU Tells Britain to Justify Fingerprinting Children in Schools Without Parental Consent

Police State North Carolina: Fingerprint Scanner Use Raises Privacy Concerns

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Must-see:

– Jesse Ventura Conspiracy Theory: Police State (And FEMA Concentration Camps)

RALEIGH — Next month, 13 law enforcement agencies in the region will begin using a new handheld device that lets an officer scan a person’s fingerprints and seek a match in an electronic database – all without going anywhere.

Police say taking fingerprints in the field will allow them to work more efficiently and safely. But the ACLU North Carolina in Raleigh worries that the device may allow officers to violate privacy rights.

The ACLU is concerned about what will become of fingerprint scans that are sent to other databases, such as the National Crime Information Center.
Carolina Hurricanes vs Washington Capitals 12/26

“Part of the danger is the idea of the government creating a database on its citizens,” said Sarah Preston, policy director for ACLU North Carolina. “Citizens should be allowed some degree of privacy.”

But those concerns are unwarranted, said Sam Pennica, director of the City-County Bureau of Identification, the agency that processes fingerprints in Wake County and is providing the devices to local agencies. The software for the device, known as Rapid Identification COPS Technology, would not store fingerprints of any individuals, even those charged with a crime, Pennica said.

“It will not retain the fingerprints of any individuals under any circumstances,” he said, adding that fingerprints would only be compared to those in the Wake County database. “They will not be submitted to any state or federal agency.” (Sure! Watch former Governor Jesse Ventura and let’s see if you still believe this.)

Read morePolice State North Carolina: Fingerprint Scanner Use Raises Privacy Concerns

Hi-tech Eye Scanners Tracking Passengers In Uk Airport Go On Trial

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The biometrics system undergoes testing at Manchester Airport. It is able to identify people as they move from their irises

Passengers will have their eyes scanned as soon as they check in as part of a new trial a major UK airport.

High-tech machines that can recognise an individual’s iris as they walk around will be installed at Manchester Airport at check in during the government-backed pilot.

The technology has the potential to overhaul security and customs, with airport bosses hoping it could help in the fight against terrorism.

Passengers who agree to take part will have their iris scanned at check in and it will then be used to identify them as they enter the security search area when it is scanned again.

Volunteers for the scheme are asked to walk through a demonstration scanner, at the end of a 5 metre-long walkway, at a normal pace.

Read moreHi-tech Eye Scanners Tracking Passengers In Uk Airport Go On Trial

Army Reveals Afghan Biometric ID Plan; Millions Scanned, Carded by May

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army-reveals-afghan-biometric-id-plan

Scanning prisoners’ irises is just Step 1. In Afghanistan, local and NATO forces are amassing biometric dossiers on hundreds of thousands of cops, crooks, soldiers, insurgents and ordinary citizens. And now, with NATO’s backing, the Kabul government is putting together a plan to issue biometrically backed identification cards to 1.65 million Afghans by next May.

The idea is to hinder militant movement around the country, and to keep Taliban infiltrators out of the army, NATO Training Mission-Afghanistan commander Lt. Gen. William Caldwell tells Danger Room. “The system allows the Afghans to thoroughly screen applicants and recruits for any potential negative past history or criminal linkages, while at the same time it provides an additional measure of security at checkpoints and major facilities to prevent possible entrance and access by malign actors in Afghanistan,” Caldwell e-mails.

It’s a high-tech upgrade to a classic counterinsurgency move – simultaneously taking a census of the population, culling security forces of double agents and cutting off guerrilla routes. (Plus, bombs and weapons can be swabbed for fingerprints to build files on insurgent suspects.) Gen. David Petraeus, now commander of the Afghan war effort, relied heavily on biometrics during his time in command of U.S. forces in Iraq.

Twenty to 25 Afghans a week are currently caught in the biometric sweep, military officials estimate. That number could grow significantly in the months to come. The “population registration division” of Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior is “embarking on a program to develop, print and distribute biometrically enabled national ID cards,” e-mails Col. Craig Osbourne, the director of NATO’s Task Force Biometrics.

Read moreArmy Reveals Afghan Biometric ID Plan; Millions Scanned, Carded by May