Biometrics, Borders, Bombs, and BREXIT: World Tumult Drives Adoption of Automated Border Control and Identification Technology

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According to Acuity Market Intelligence, recent terrorism and violence across Europe, the United States, and the Middle East, along with concerns about global migration and immigration, are driving renewed efforts to vet immigrants and international travelers, and to enhance and expand biometric border security.

Acuity reports that biometric credentials and the collection and screening of biometrics for visas and at ports of entry have become global national security standards. More than 2 billion biometric National IDs and 690 million biometric ePassports are currently in circulation. More than 390 million biometric eVisas have been issued, while 1760 biometric eGates are deployed in 51 countries at 157 locations, and 1247 Automated Passport Control Kiosks are deployed at 45 locations in North America, Europe, and the Middle East.

"The fear of legal and illegal migration reflected in the BREXIT referendum, as well as the anxiety generated by the impact of European 'open' borders are echoed in US calls for a ban on Muslim immigrants and a wall on the Mexican border," says Maxine Most, Principal at Acuity Market Intelligence. "Regardless of their validity, these responses reveal global concerns about the ability of countries to identify and control who is crossing their borders."

"Add the recent spate of terrorist attacks, increasing international travel and border congestion, and on-going migrant crises, and reliable, automated identification and border control is no longer a luxury, but a global necessity," Most, a biometric identity and security technology expert, said. "As national security and border authorities rush to embrace biometrics. Acuity expects worldwide automated border control market growth to accelerate rapidly over the next decade."