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standard 5 of very recent approval, that defines how to work towards the interoperability of
biometric data across different systems.
Likewise, it will also be important that governments, in line with the responsible directions for
defining technological standards, set minimum conditions for certification that shall outline the
equipment or devices (for example, that which is provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) 6 . This will allow for project scalability, with roadblocks to integration erased, and also
ensure that the devices not be those whose condition becomes critical and responsible for
failure.
To enter into even more depth regarding the importance of adoption of standards, in order for
the programs to be interoperable, scalable and with a high grade of security in the exchange
of information, we may analyze the experience of the financial services sector. This is a sector
that historically has had the greatest number of networked calculations, the highest quantity
of users, a large physical distribution of equipment, a high level of information exchange, real
time labor, management of critical and confidential information, and I would go so far as to say,
the highest level of information security. If for example, in the beginning of the rollout of ATM
networks, there had not been standards set in place; for the format of magnetic strips on cards,
encryption systems, or rather, the decision to work under international standards, nothing of
what that industry is today would have been possible.
Therefore, making the decision to work under standards and best practices in the area of
technology is giving definition to one of the most important pillars of success for the project.
A recent example of the implications of planning that does not adequately apply the use of
standards is the case of the Argentine Federal Police. In early 1995, this institution began to
collect data of its citizens (patronymic and biometric) not only on paper, but also digitally in a
database. Recently, due to a necessity for service and quality, they had to make a technologic
leap and they were forced to resolve the problem of reading compatibility of 5 million
fingerprint entries that were stored in a proprietary database from the system they already had
in place 7 .
There are obviously other technological decisions equally or of greater importance to evaluating
the planning stage. For example, regarding the devices and biometrical methods to be used,
it could prove difficult to opt for a fingerprint system of identification in projects where the
people to be identified may have to engage in activities that leave their hands dirty; in that case
the quality would be quite low.
Or the contingency plan in the event of defects in the technology. An issue that is already
present in all projects, but if oftentimes not given the adequate amount of time for planning a
solution. Certainly the process facing defects could be more bureaucratic and slow, given that
we are speaking of the identification of people, but at the time for planning equal attention
ought to be paid to the contingency as is to the main project. This is a consequence of the
fact that, as the processing become more linear and flexible through the use of technology,
7 (Biometrías, “Herramientas para la Identidad y Seguridad Publica”, P. Janices, 42)
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