IT On Guard: Accenture's S10 billion contract for a border-control system hinges on emerging technology and difficult integration

摘要

A visitor to the united states in the coming years might have to undergo a retinal scan at a consulate in his or her home country just to apply for a visa. Once here, the visitor would present a smart card, encoded with the digital eye print, to an immigration official and undergo a second scan to ensure a match. The data would be instantly cross-referenced against a database containing digital descriptors of known terrorists or other criminals. Upon departure, a final scan would tell officials if the person had overstayed the visa. That's just one scenario that could play out under a megaproject the Department of Homeland Security awarded Accenture last week to oversee the creation of a comprehensive. border-control system, known as US-Visit (United States Visitor and Immigration Status Indicator Technology). Homeland Security launched components of the program this year and is currently fingerprinting and digitally photographing visitors from some countries. Now, it's hiring Accenture―at a cost of up to $10 billion―to use cutting-edge technology to create a full-blown system over the next five to 10 years.