Users of these devices can collect iris and fingerprint scans and facial photos, and match them to entries in military databases and biometric watchlists.

HIIDE is a single small device that incorporates a fingerprint reader, iris scanner and camera. BAT includes a laptop, fingerprint reader, iris scanner and camera. forces were collecting biometric data primarily through mobile devices such as the Biometric Automated Toolset (BAT) and Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment (HIIDE). military personnel had been trained to collect biometric data to support the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Identity dominance means being able to keep track of people the military considers a potential threat regardless of aliases, and ultimately denying organizations the ability to use anonymity to hide their activities.īy 2004, thousands of U.S. 11, 2001, in her book “ First Platoon.” The Department of Defense quickly viewed biometric data and what it called “identity dominance” as the cornerstone of multiple counterterrorism and counterinsurgency strategies. Investigative journalist Annie Jacobsen documented the birth of biometric-driven warfare in Afghanistan following the terrorist attacks on Sept. My research and the work of journalists and privacy advocates who study biometric cybersurveillance anticipated these data privacy and security risks. This potential data breach underscores that data protection in zones of conflict, especially biometric data and databases that connect online activity to physical locations, can be a matter of life and death. Many Afghans fear that the identity documents and databases storing personally identifiable data could be transformed into death warrants in the hands of the Taliban. have been attempting to hide or destroy physical and digital evidence of their identities.

and coalition forces.Īfghans who once supported the U.S. to track Afghans, including people who worked for U.S. In the wake of the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul and the ouster of the Afghan national government, alarming reports indicate that the insurgents could potentially access biometric data collected by the U.S. By Margaret Hu, Professor of Law and of International Affairs, Penn State

Hiide device