US-built biometrics equipment is falling into the hands of the Taliban

By Lynzy Billing

A elector gets their fingerprint scanned astatine a polling presumption successful Herat successful 2019

HOSHANG HASHIMI/AFP via Getty Images

With the Taliban having present taken implicit Afghanistan, determination are increasing concerns astir however it mightiness usage the information from the immense biometrics programme that has been near behind. An extended database of radical successful Afghanistan was built up during the erstwhile regime, but the speedy modulation has meant overmuch of it remains successful tact.

The US archetypal established a programme to cod the fingerprints, iris scans and facial images of Afghan nationalist information forces aft investigating prototypes of the strategy successful 2002. The programme’s archetypal extremity was to support criminals and Taliban insurgents from infiltrating the service and constabulary force. To cod and store this data, the US Department of Defense launched its Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) successful 2004.

Over the years, the biometrics inaugural has had some conjugation and Afghan troops from aggregate biometric task forces collecting fingerprint, iris and familial biometric information from arsenic overmuch of the colonisation arsenic possible, present successful the millions. In 2020, the Afghan authorities launched a biometric strategy for licensing businesses successful bid to amended the easiness and ratio with which licences are processed. In January, The Afghan authorities shared its plans to behaviour biometric registration of students and unit astatine 5000 madrassas astir the country.

Some of this biometric instrumentality is present successful the hands of the Taliban, 1 elder Afghan authorities official, who worked intimately with the biometric gathering for 4 years, told New Scientist. The instrumentality includes immoderate specially made portable toolkits consisting of a laptop, integer camera, fingerprint scanner and an iris reader.

“Just think, they present person everything from the police, defence ministry and predetermination commission,” said the official, who wished to stay anonymous. They person besides seized instrumentality from facilities utilized by the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan’s quality and information agency, helium says. “It was near down successful the unreserved to exit. They person everything.” A US subject authoritative confirmed that biometric devices person been seized by the Taliban, but however galore isn’t known.

“We recognize that the Taliban is present apt to person entree to assorted biometric databases and instrumentality successful Afghanistan,” wrote US-based Human Rights First this week. “This exertion is apt to see entree to a database with fingerprints and iris scans, and see facial designation technology.”

Fear of reprisals

The interest is that the Taliban volition beryllium capable to usage the biometric instrumentality and data to transportation retired reprisals against radical who worked successful the coalition-backed regime. A erstwhile interpreter who worked with US forces successful Bagram Air Base, who besides had his biometrics taken, says the Taliban is listening successful connected telephone calls and conducting door-to-door searches for those who worked alongside the US successful the metropolis of Kandahar. “We conscionable don’t cognize what they person connected us.”

Sean McDonald, who has worked successful humanitarian information governance for the past 10 years, says: “The Taliban person a demonstrated involvement successful hunting, sidesplitting and scaring those who person worked with the authorities and planetary community.”

Annie Jacobsen, writer of First Platoon: A Story of modern warfare successful the property of individuality dominance, says that the US has spent much than $8 cardinal connected biometrics programmes successful Iraq and Afghanistan and these person failed to nutrient thing adjacent to a palmy result successful the wars. However, she says that portion galore biometric tools person fallen into the hands of the Taliban, it doesn’t yet person the instrumentality to process oregon usage the data.

One serviceman who has been progressive successful quality gathering successful Afghanistan and besides wished to stay anonymous says that the information of Afghan radical is paramount. Data collected by the US could beryllium utilized to get immoderate of them retired of the country, helium says, arsenic biometric information was wide collected and utilized successful recognition cards for radical who helped the US.

Though this could person happened sooner, helium says. “The US has ample information to person identified agelong agone who had worked for them and could person prepared for evacuations sooner successful my sentiment and morally should have.”

The US Department of Defense did not respond to a petition for comment.

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• war
• biometrics