In the unconventional war that the United States is now fighting worldwide, U.S. military facilities — once thought to be a haven of safety for our troops — are increasingly being penetrated by terrorists and insurgents. This was tragically proven by the December 2004 suicide bombing at a U.S. facility in Mosul, Iraq, which killed 22 people.
BISA: Preventing Unauthorized Access to U.S. Military Bases
Thanks to the Biometric Identification System for Access (BISA) — a first-of-its-kind ID system developed by CSC for the U.S. Department of Defense Biometric Fusion Center (BFC) — U.S. military facilities now have an extra layer of protection against enemy infiltration.
The system, deployed in a tight six-month deadline by a CSC team hoping to prevent another Mosul-type attack, is currently live at a number of sites throughout Iraq. But BISA’s processes and techniques for identification management can be used to protect
U.S. military bases and facilities anywhere in the world from insurgent and enemy attack.
Flagging Suspicious Applicants: How BISA Works
BISA’s foundation is a biometrically enabled ID card that all foreign nationals must use every time they enter a U.S. facility. Under the new system, when a foreign national requests access to a U.S. military facility, he or she must report to an enrollment station to be photographed and to provide biographical information, an iris image and fingerprints.
That information is packaged and sent via satellite to a U.S. facility where CSC runs the information against two U.S. government databases of known terrorists and suspected enemy combatants — DoD’s Automated Biometric Identification System (ABIS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). These databases house biometric data taken from detainees, enemy combatants and other persons of interest. ABIS information is combined with other relevant data to determine whether to grant access.
Once DoD has verification of identity and an approved background check, the applicant is given a smartcard-enabled ID card. The card has the applicant’s photo as well as fingerprint, enabling access to the facility.
BISA’s biometrically enabled ID cards provide an extra layer of protection against infiltration that is invaluable in the war against terrorism, which is fought against a faceless, shadowy enemy. Thanks to the sophistication of the card, even if a determined insurgent or terrorist succeeds in stealing a uniform, a jeep and a pass, it is impossible for him to gain entry to a U.S. facility.
Leading-Edge Technology, Fail-Proof Protection
While biometric ID systems are seeing increased use in both commercial and government realms, BISA is unique in being the first multi-enterprise biometric ID system. One enterprise system resides in Iraq, where enrollment takes place at military bases. The second system resides in the United States, where the information is processed through government databases. The third enterprise system handles smartcard generation and provisioning. Comprising all three, BISA has succeeded in the face of tough challenges. These challenges include the distance from the United States to Iraq, an inhospitable climate and the uncertainty of electrical power, which necessitates that CSC use satellites and not landlines to transmit
the information.
Despite the challenges — and the compressed time frame within which the system was developed and deployed — BISA has been so successful in identifying potential suspects that it has been extended to more sites in Iraq. CSC continues to develop, support and implement the system as part of our ongoing partnership with DoD and the BFC.
Related Information
Read how CSC supports U.S. agencies with base operations and range services.
Learn about CSC's defense-related offerings.
Explore CSC’s National Security and full-spectrum security offerings.
Visit our Border and Immigration Solutions Center of Excellence.
Contact us and let our experience help you produce results.
Return to Identity Management Solutions main page.
BISA brochure
Download a brochure on BISA.
Download the File BISA slide presentation
Download a slide presentation on BISA
Download the File