DICT vows safeguards for digital national ID
MANILA, Philippines — Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Ivan Uy on Wednesday said that there are safeguards for the digital version of the national identification card (ID).
The DICT had been tasked with creating a digital version of the national ID in the eGov Super App after the Philippine Statistics Authority failed to meet its implementation target.
“All our systems are developed with security in mind ‘no. So this is what we call our approach, security by design. Meaning, security is not an afterthought. So to speak, from the beginning, when we design it, it’s already with security features. So today, we are using best-of-breed security systems in order to develop these apps and these systems,” said Uy in a Palace briefing.
Uy explained that the users’ personal data would not be stored in the app itself but in the government agencies with that data.
The app merely accesses the existing data from agencies like PhilHealth, Pag-IBIG, and SSS.
Uy added that the system uses biometrics to verify the owner’s identity, so cases wherein fake IDs that use the faces of animals can be avoided.
However, Uy said that that does not mean the digital system will be completely safe from hackers.
“Of course, that’s not always a guarantee ‘no, even the US or, you know, these top-notch countries with the best security, and somehow, criminals still find the way. So it’s always a cat-and-mouse thing; they find a way. We develop strategies and procedures in order to plug those holes; they find another one then, so it’s a continuing, it’s an arms race,” he said.
