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

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. 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 September 11 in her book First Platoon. 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.

has taken prudent actions to ensure that sensitive data does not fall into the Taliban's hands.Afghans who once supported the U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Eric Pahon also denied that Afghans' biometric data is at risk. Someone being in the database doesn't necessarily mean they worked with the US government or women's rights organizations. That said, since the US military scanned anyone and everyone, one of the vets who helped collect Afghans' biometrics said it could be difficult to use the database to find specific individuals to target. The goal was to have an extensive database of fingerprints that authorities can search in the event a bomb is found.

Other military officers had to the same thing. While the exact number of individuals in the database is unclear, an Air Force medic the publication talked to said he was instructed to scan the irises, take the fingerprints and photograph the face of every Afghan who came through the hospital doors while he was in service. The system's database, which the US shared with the Afghan government, reportedly contains millions of fingerprints, iris scans and face photos collected throughout the years. According to NBC News, privacy advocates are worried about the possibility of the Taliban using the database to identify and target individuals who worked with the US-backed Afghan government and organizations that champion women's rights. The United States created a biometric system to register as many Afghans as possible over 15 years ago, and it's become a cause for concern now that the Taliban has taken over.

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