Taliban Have Control Of US Biometric Technology

The Taliban have taken US military biometrics devices that could aid in the identification of Afghans who assisted coalition forces, current and former military. 

The devices, known as HIIDE (Handheld Interagency Identity Detection Equipment) were seized during the Taliban’s rapid takeover of Kabul following the collapse of the national Government. HIIDE devices contain identifying biometric data such as iris scans and fingerprints, as well as biographical information and are used to access large centralised databases. 

The immediate concern is that the Taliban will be able to use the biometric equipment and data  to carry out reprisals against people who worked in the US / coalition-backed regime. 

The US military has been using biometric devices for a long time in the global war on terror. And after the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, there are concerns that sensitive biometric data might be used by the Taliban, although its unknown  how much of the biometric database on the Afghan population has been compromised.

Used as a means of tracking terrorists and other insurgents, biometric data on Afghan nationals who assisted the US was also widely collected and used in identification cards.

The US have been collecting biometric data from Afghans assisting their armed forces, despite knowing the risks entailed by maintaining large databases of personal information, especially given recent cyber attacks on government agencies and private companies. According to sources, the Taliban are already monitoring phone calls and conducting door-to-door searches for those who worked alongside the US.

The possibility of widespread abuse of the collected data makes evading biometric scanning for the numerous Afghans at risk of reprisals vitally important.  

The Intercept:   I-HLS:    New Scientist:   SCMP:     The Verge:   

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