NUI Galway team defends work on major US intelligence project

Galway Bay fm newsroom – A team at NUI Galway is defending a decision to support a major US intelligence project amid fears over privacy. NUI Galway partner, Compact Imaging, is teaming up with SRI International to develop improved detection of attempts to evade or deceive security systems, such as fingerprint identification scanners. The NUI Galway technology has been selected as a critical component in the development of ‘dynamic biometrics.' It's part of the US Government's Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity – the Odin Program. Galway Alliance Against War has hit out at the collaboration – claiming it could have serious impacts on personal freedoms when used in surveillance systems. The group has been contacted by Galway Bay fm news on several occasions, but has not responded to requests for a comment. Professor Martin Leahy is leading the Galway research team – he says the project is not about surveillance, it's about cyber security.