By Calvin Biesecker
Cross Match Technologies and L-1 Identity Solutions [ID] have received initial orders for both companies’ 10-print fingerprint systems as part of an upgrade of the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S.-VISIT program that requires collecting 10 fingerprints from most foreign travelers into the United States instead of the current two.
L-1 is delivering 127 of its TouchPrint 4100 livescan units and Cross Match 120 of its L Scan Guardian devices for use in 10 airports beginning today at Dulles International in Northern Virginia. DHS plans to replace the current two-fingerprint scanners with the new 10-print devices at all U.S. ports of entry over the next year. Cross Match and L-1 originally supplied DHS with the two-print scanners for U.S. VISIT when it began rolling out a few years ago.
The value of the orders hasn’t been disclosed. DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff will hold a press conference today at Dulles International Airport during a demonstration of the 10-print collection for international visitors.
Under U.S.-VISIT, the State Department collects fingerprints and a digital photograph from foreign nationals in their home countries who are seeking a visa for entry into the United States. The biometric information is checked against a database of known criminals and suspected terrorists before a visa is issued. Once a visitor arrives in the United States, that person’s fingerprints are digitally scanned to make sure it is the same person who received the visa.
Collecting 10 fingerprints instead of two increases the accuracy of the database searches, particularly as the database of fingerprints grows. That’s because 10 prints provide more data points than two prints, making it less likely that a search will result in incorrect, or possibly multiple, matches. Migrating U.S.-VISIT to a 10-print based database will also improve interoperability with the FBI’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System as well.
DHS plans to replace the current two-fingerprint scanners with new 10-fingerprint scanners at all U.S. ports of entry over the next year. The U.S.-VISIT program office is expected to make a decision early next year whether to continue purchasing livescan devices from both Cross Match and L-1 or go with a single supplier.
The Department of State has already purchased the 10-print livescan devices for its overseas consulates as part of the U.S.-VISIT upgrade. Stanford Equity Group security analyst Jeremy Grant estimates that Cross Match won about 75 percent of the State Department’s business with L-1 garnering the rest.
The primary beneficiary of the U.S.-VISIT upgrade will likely be Cogent Systems, which supplies automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS) for the current two- print database, Grant said. As U.S.-VISIT migrates to a 10-print system, the AFIS system needs to grow significantly, which means significant revenue for Cogent, he said.
The U.S.-VISIT livescan awards were actually made to L-1’s distributor, which hasn’t been disclosed, and CounterTrade Products, Inc., which is Cross Match’s distributor.
Accenture [ACN] is the prime contractor for DHS on U.S.-VISIT.