How Biometrics is Shaping Digital eGovernment Initiative
Over the next few years, the biometrics market is predicted to expand significantly. By the end of this year, the industry may be worth $30 billion, with income sources diversifying away from the government and toward banks and consumer electronics, according to some projections. This blog will look into some egovernment solutions powered by biometrics.
Sim Registration Using Biometrics
According to a report by Middle East Eye, the Saudi Ministry of Interior will fingerprint everyone wishing to acquire a SIM card as a security precaution to prohibit mobile phone users from engaging in activities that harm national security. A customer’s fingerprints will be sent to the National Information Centre in the kingdom for authentication purposes. One paper states, “From today, the fingerprinting technique is entering its initial phase of implementation”. The decision was made last year, but it wasn’t implemented until this year because some of the mobile phone firms operating in the country had to import fingerprint-reading technology.
Biometric Enabled ID
It was reported in December that in response to growing concerns about the use of counterfeit and unregistered SIM cards for illegal purposes, the government of Bangladesh began requiring biometric registration of mobile-phone SIM card holders. Hungary has implemented a new electronic ID card system with biometric and electronic signature capabilities. Citizens over the age of 18 will have their documents valid for six years, while children will have theirs for three years. After applying for a citizen card, it should take no more than eight days to get the card in the mail. The e-ID is a “one-stop card” that incorporates many forms of identification into one convenient package: fingerprints, SSNs, and tax ID. At the unveiling, Istvan Ignacz, the head of Hungary’s Central Office for Administrative and Electronic Public Services (KEKKH), said the card had been created in a record-breaking two months.
Biometric Identification Cards
The government of Turkey has just begun an effort to use biometrics for identification. The pilot province of Central Anatolian Krkkale has begun receiving the new biometric identification cards issued by the Turkish Government. Those bulky cards with just the bare minimum of information printed on them will be phased out in favor of the new chip-enabled smart cards. To prevent duplication, forgery, and counterfeiting, biometric cards will adhere to stringent security standards. The user’s fingerprints and palm scans, among other biometric data, will be stored on a card with a storage capacity of 1 GB data, as stated on the website for the Electronic Authentication System. There will be a 10-year grace period for the new cards.
Biometric e-Passports
A biometric passport often called an e-passport or digital passport is similar to a standard paper passport except that it incorporates biometric information on an implanted electronic microprocessor chip. A microprocessor chip (computer chip) and antenna (for both power to the chip and communication) are implanted in the passport’s front or rear cover, or in the passport’s central page, making use of contactless smart card technology. Important data is written on the passport’s data page, reproduced on the machine-readable lines, and saved to the chip. If all security measures are in place and working properly, forging a passport with an electronic chip will be a time-consuming and costly endeavor. Biometric passports are being issued by an increasing number of nations to their residents. Malaysia introduced biometric passports in 1998, making it the first country to do so. As of late December 2008, 60 nations were issuing such passports; by mid-2022, that number will have risen to 160+.
