Unisys Delivers IDEMIA-Powered Biometric System for Australian Dept. of Home Affairs

The Australian Department of Home Affairs has officially launched its new Enterprise Biometric Identification Services (EBIS) system. Unisys signed a contract to create the new EBIS system back in 2018, and was able to deliver the completed project within 18 months.

The EBIS system blends Unisys’ Stealth(identity) authentication and identity management platform with the Multi Biometric Search Services (MBSS) product from IDEMIA, which includes face and fingerprint recognition algorithms. Though Unisys is the primary contractor on the project, IDEMIA has been a collaborator since its earliest stages.

The Department of Home Affairs is planning to use the EBIS platform to streamline its visa and border processing procedures. The Department will use the system to check the faces of anyone applying for citizenship, as well as the faces and fingerprints of visa applicants hoping to travel in the country. Australia is expecting an influx of both in the next ten years. The country received 9.5 million visitors in 2019, a figure that is up 3.9 million from what it was ten years prior. Of course, the number of tourists is almost certainly down in 2020 due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, but Australia is confident that travel will eventually recover.

“EBIS provides Home Affairs with greater confidence in verifying an individual’s identity for efficient and early detection of criminals,” said Unisys Asia Pacific General Manager and VP Rick Mayhew.

Unisys Stealth(identity) supports iris and voice recognition in addition to face and fingerprint biometrics. The platform will provide all of the core management functions for the EBIS system, including its workflows and auditing capabilities. IDEMIA’s MBSS product, meanwhile, can field more than 1 billion identities, and can be configured to enable other biometric modalities.

Unisys also developed the older biometric matching system that the new EBIS is replacing. That legacy system was in use for the past 12 years.

In September, Unisys announced that it will be developing biometric driver’s licenses after renewing its contract with the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads. The company has since launched a Software-as-a-Service version of the Stealth(identity) platform.

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June 3, 2020 – by Eric Weiss