The Department of Homeland Security is on the verge of awarding the biggest contract in its young history for an elaborate system to track visitors to the United States long before they set foot here. The system could cost as much as $ 15 billion and would employ a network of computer databases.The contract, which will probably be awarded in coming days to one of three final bidders, is already generating considerable interest, with Federal officials trying to improve their ability to monitor those entering the country through over 300 border-crossing checkpoints.But with that interest have come questions. Will a company based outside the United States, in Bermuda, get the megacontract? How much will it end up costing? What about the privacy concerns of foreign visitors? And most critical, can the system really work? Interviews with government officials, experts and the three companies vying for the contract — Accenture, the Computer Sciences Corp and Lockheed Martin — reveal new details and potential complications.The programme, known as US-Visit — and rooted partly in a Pentagon concept developed after the terrorist attacks of 2001 — seeks to supplant the nation’s physical borders with what officials call virtual borders. Such borders employ networks of databases and biometric sensors for identification at sites where people seek visas to the United States. With a virtual border in place, the actual border guard will become the last point of defense. Once visitors arrive at US checkpoints, they will face ‘‘real-time identification,” or instantaneous authentication. US officials will, at least theoretically, be able to track them inside the United States and determine if they leave the country on time. However, privacy advocates say the new system could give the Federal government far broader power to monitor the whereabouts of visitors by tapping into credit card information or similar databases. The system would tie together about 20 Federal databases with information on over 300 million foreign visitors each year.The bidders agree that the Department of Homeland Security has given them unusually wide latitude in determining the best strategy for securing US borders without unduly encumbering tourism and commerce. Whoever wins the contract will be asked to develop a standard for identifying visitors using a variety of possible tools — from photographs and fingerprints to techniques like iris scanning, facial recognition and radio-frequency chips for reading passports or identifying vehicles.‘‘Each technology has its strengths and weaknesses,” Paul Cofoni, president of Computer Sciences’ federal sector, said. Virtual borders is a high-concept plan, building on ideas tried since the 2001 attacks. But domestic security officials say making it work on a practical level is integral to protecting the United States from terrorist attacks.‘‘This is important for the country’s security and for use of our limited resources,” Asa Hutchinson, undersecretary for border security, said in an interview. But the General Accounting Office, the investigative arm of Congress, concluded in a report in September that ‘‘the programme is a risky endeavor,’’ given its enormous scope and complexity. ‘‘The missed entry of one person who poses a threat to the United States could have severe consequences,” the report said. —NYT
