NIEM Supports Rapid Biometrics Data Sharing Across U.S. Government Agencies and International Partners

The Project Management Office (PM DoD Biometrics) developed the DNA Prototype to leverage the rapid DNA capabilities developed by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Biometric Identity Management (OBIM). The DNA Exchange Schema utilizes elements from the NIEM Core and domains (including NIEM’s Biometrics and Screening domains). The NIEM messaging interfaces facilitate data sharing among U.S. government agencies and international partners. This model provides biological identification and relationship (kinship) testing and utilizes pedigree to assist with identifying fraud and biological relationships.

The PM DoD Biometrics designs, engineers, acquires, deploys, and sustains enterprise biometric solutions in multiple operating environments across the DoD and other federal agencies. The office worked with the Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency (DFBA) to enable and implement the fully NIEM conformant EBTS 4.1 specification currently used by the Biometrics Interoperability and Standards Compliance Office (BISCO) laboratory. BISCO provides independent verification and standards conformance validation on external tools and systems designated for use across the DoD.

OBIM supports Homeland Security's responsibility to protect the nation by providing biometric identification services that help federal, state, and local government decision-makers accurately identify the people they encounter and determine whether those people pose a risk to the United States. OBIM supplies the technology for collecting and storing biometric data, provides analysis, updates its watchlist, and ensures the integrity of the data. DHS OBIM is implementing processes and tools to deliver comprehensive project models, capable of supporting project architecture, engineering, and performance analysis.