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IBM > Case Studies > Using biometric data to secure a nation’s frontier
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Using biometric data to secure a nation’s frontier

Technology Category
  • Analytics & Modeling - Big Data Analytics
  • Application Infrastructure & Middleware - API Integration & Management
  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) - Cloud Computing
Applicable Industries
  • National Security & Defense
Use Cases
  • Cybersecurity
  • Intrusion Detection Systems
Services
  • Cloud Planning, Design & Implementation Services
  • Data Science Services
  • System Integration
The Challenge
The border control organization of a nation with over 60 million people and approximately 200 million annual border crossings was faced with an aging IT infrastructure and an obsolete identity card and fingerprint system. This compromised border security by hindering effective analysis of immigration information. The organization was tasked with providing border security during a global sporting event that would draw over half a million visitors. The event provided both the opportunity and necessity for the organization to hasten a comprehensive transformation of its security system. The event would also provide the first major test of the system’s efficacy, when more than 380,000 participants, family members, and staff would undergo identity verification and security checks.
About The Customer
The customer is a national law enforcement agency responsible for providing comprehensive border protection for a nation of more than 60 million people. The nation's frontier sees approximately 200 million crossings annually. The agency has nearly 25,000 staff members, including roughly 9,000 law enforcement officers. It operates in local communities and in more than 130 countries. The agency was tasked with providing border security during a global sporting event that would draw over half a million visitors.
The Solution
The agency teamed up with IBM Global Services and IBM Business Partners Morpho and Aware, Inc., experts in multibiometric data acquisition and analytics, to design and implement a biometric and advanced passenger processing system. This system would enable border control to perform near-real-time risk assessment while travelers are en route to the country. The solution is a Service Oriented Architecture developed with IBM WebSphere, IBM Tivoli, and IBM DB2 software. Hosted on a cloud-ready IBM System x, IBM Power Systems, and IBM XIV Storage Systems infrastructure, it operates through a dispersed network of sites connected to a central operations center, with remote offices throughout the country, at the border, and in more than 130 countries. The identity verification system also features a mobile app that supports the remote capture of biometric data.
Operational Impact
  • The solution can access, screen, and compare millions of biometric and law enforcement records for precise, efficient identity verification.
  • By comparing information from travel documents and carrier reservation systems with the latest watch lists and profiles, the agency can clear low-risk visitors quickly, freeing law enforcement to focus resources on higher-risk travelers.
  • The advanced passenger processing system provides swift access to millions of data-rich records and integration with third-party partner systems through disparate interfaces and multiple protocols, all under stringent security controls.
Quantitative Benefit
  • Processes 20,000 transactions per day for quick and accurate identity checks of people seeking to enter the country.
  • Facilitated counter-terrorism operations resulting in more than 2,000 arrests.

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