HERNDON, Va., Dec. 3, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) has been selected by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to support the integration of fingerprint identification databases of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The five-year contract, which includes one base year and four one-year options, has a potential value of $14.5 million to Northrop Grumman's Information Technology (IT) sector. Work on the program will be performed in Washington, D.C., and northern Virginia.
In 2000, Congress directed the Justice Department to develop a plan to integrate the INS Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the FBI Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS). When completed, the new system will allow federal officials to conduct background checks on illegal immigrants more quickly, efficiently and accurately.
"This program takes on increased significance because an integrated fingerprint identification system will contribute to homeland security by enabling INS personnel to have immediate access to these two databases," said Frank Torpey, senior program manager, Northrop Grumman Information Technology. "The integration program is a significant step in providing secure interoperability and data exchange across government agencies."
To support the IDENT/IAFIS integration program, Northrop Grumman will provide systems engineering and program planning support to the Justice Management Division Management Planning Staff. This work will include performing numerous studies and producing documentation related to integrated systems requirements analysis, automated biometrics, security and operational impact assessments.
Northrop Grumman brings extensive experience to the challenge of integrating IDENT and IAFIS. The company gained knowledge of INS operations, including IDENT, through its participation in the INS Service Technology Alliance Resources contract. The company was also a major subcontractor on the IAFIS development program. In addition, Northrop Grumman will apply software development expertise gained from its PRC Inc. unit, which achieved a Level 5 rating on the Software Engineering Institute's Capability Maturity Model.
IAFIS, the FBI database with more than 40 million sets of fingerprints, will be the technological base for the improved, integrated system. In addition to providing the INS with the capability to check fingerprints of illegal or questionable aliens against all IAFIS files in a timely manner, the integrated files will be accessible to federal, state and local law enforcement officials through the existing IAFIS network.
Northrop Grumman Information Technology is a premier provider of advanced IT solutions, engineering and business services for government and commercial clients. Headquartered in Herndon, the company's expertise spans such areas as information systems integration; command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR); enterprise hardware and software solutions; training and simulation; base and range support; signals intelligence; space systems; health informatics; and specialized scientific, engineering and technical services.