In a attempt to fight fraudulent activities and rampant scams, the Independent Communications Authority of SA (Icasa) wants network operators to collect subscribers’ biometric information and link it to SIM cards.
The proposed legislation, said Icasa on Wednesday, would lead to a subscriber’s facial features and fingerprints being linked to their SIM card, making it hard for criminals to steal cellphone numbers through a fraudulent SIM-swapping exercise.
But Gideon Joubert, CEO of DearSA, disagreed with the proposal, saying while SIM swapping was the biggest problem, there were underlying issues that needed to be dealt with first.
He said the Icasa’s proposed legislation went against people’s privacy and security.
“There are an estimated 53.4-million smartphones subscriptions in South Africa, so collecting and securely storing the biometric data of millions of private individuals in compliance with the proper information security protocols is a significant task,” said Joubert.
“We transact, communicate, and do business via our smartphones. A small data breach can potentially place millions of South Africans in jeopardy, as recently demonstrated with the TransUnion hacking attack.
“Therefore, we must tread carefully with new regulations to not create greater risk.”
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