CBP to Expand Eye Recognition Data Collection And Aims for Total Adoption in Border Apprehensions

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced its plans to expand its use of biometric iris recognition at U.S. borders, aiming for near-total adoption in border apprehensions, per Fedscoop. The agency has been using the technology for years now, touting its high reliability over other biometric data collection methods such as facial recognition and digital fingerprints.

Iris recognition is the process of recognizing a person by analysing the random pattern of their iris–the colored part of the eye. This method relies on capturing an image of a person's iris using specialized infrared light cameras that analyze and store its unique patterns. The patterns remain relatively unchanged throughout a person's life and are highly distinguishable, even between identical twins.

According to Fedscoop, nearly 69% of CBP apprehensions in the last fiscal quarter involved iris scans; the agency disclosed its plans to bump that number to 100%. As of now, 40 CBP checkpoints across four regional sectors use iris biometric systems and have contributed to 8,000 identifications in the last fiscal year.

According to a CBP spokesperson, the current systems allow personnel to bypass the iris data collection process, but a mandatory software update the agency is planning to implement will take that option off the table. CBP uses iris technology sold by a leading vendor named Iris ID, which also supplies its products to a collection of other governmental agencies and multinational corporations.

The FBI has long used iris recognition for criminal identification due to its accuracy and long-term reliability. Law enforcement emphasizes the superiority of this biometric data over traditional fingerprint analysis, noting instances where fingerprints are degraded due to physical labor or intentionally altered by individuals attempting to evade identification. However, Iris recognition does face some limits as some eye diseases could cause it to fail, as well as a person wearing colored contact lenses.

Cybersecurity news outlet the Readable recognizes the superiority of iris scanning, but also raises significant concerns regarding data sensitivity and potential breaches. The outlet cited various cases in which iris data was leaked or not properly stored and then used to access personal devices and financial accounts. Public debate over iris scanning also raises concerns over the government's use of this very personal data. In some countries such as India and Mexico, iris data is already being used as an alternative form of identification.