DHS Seeks Information on Cloud-Based Biometric Identity Tool

The Department of Homeland Security issued a request for information on May 5 for a cloud-enabled biometric identity and system requirement validation system.

According to the RFI posted on SAM .gov, the DHS Office of Biometric Identity Management wants a tool that can perform multiple functions, such as serving as a centralized collaboration of in-house biometrics requirements, identifying and ranking requirements and tools depending on their importance or relevance, enabling review and approval processes, documenting and project baselines and interoperating or integrating with other process templates. The offering must also work with “uncoordinated tools” to allow the OBIM to work with datasets from other government agencies.

The deadline for responses is May 19, FCW reported Wednesday.

In addition to the aforementioned requirements, the tool must be hosted on Amazon Web Services networks without the need for a bridge product. The tool must also include a dashboard system that supports updates and document collaboration.

The RFI was issued as the department works on its delayed Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology biometric management system. According to a March 2022 Government Accountability Office report, HART was still in breach of cost and schedule goals despite the DHS’s efforts to get the system ready and that the legacy Automated Biometric Identification System, which HART was intended to replace, was at risk of failing.

HART is a cloud-based system touted as the U.S. government’s largest biographic database, hosting around 270 million unique identities as of July 2022.