The Jamaica Star published an article on September 30, 2020, about the revised NIDS Bill, here’s a summary.
The Prime Minister of Jamaica is seeking to pass the Revised National Identification and Registration Bill, which will establish a reliable national identification system (NIDS) into law before the end of the year. The intention is to have the Bill through the Legislative Committee before the end of October then come back to the House. It should be noted that a significant landmark was achieved when the Cabinet approved the new National Identification and Registration Policy which should include voluntary enrollment and the use of minimum biometrics.
The Government is fully cognizant of and sensitive to the concerns persons have regarding data protection and privacy and are committed to putting in place the legislative technological and independent oversight mechanisms to ensure the rights of individuals are respected and protected. They plan to embrace a collaborative approach through the traditional process of getting the legislation passed.
It is argued that the NIDS will create economic value by enabling greater formalizing of economic flows, promoting higher inclusion of individuals in a range of services and allowing incremental digitization of sensitive interaction which requires a high levels of trust. In January 2020, the Public Key Infrastructure project was launched which will enable individuals and entities to utilize e-signatures to transact business digitally with all State agencies in a safe environment. Doing this ensures that when the legislation is passed, NIDS can actually be recognized as the structures were already put in place and will pave the way for things such as e-passports and digital identities.
Ongoing work is being implemented to improve the operations of the Registrar General’s Department (RGD) which will improve the overall delivery of services to customer such as the development of electronic birth certificates being funded by the NIDS project. Upon completion, Jamaicans will be able to request, print and verify their birth certificates from anywhere in the world. The layered rollout ad management of NIDS will be handled by a new agency, the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) which is slated to replace the RGD and provide more enhanced services.
The Bill seeks to facilitate the establishment and regulation of a National Identification System (NIDS) for the registration, verification and authentication of the identity of citizens and other persons residing in the country. It is under this system that the Government assures the comprehensive and secure anti-fraud features.
Reference: jamaica-star.com
Contributed by Racquel Bailey from Jamaica. Racquel is a member of the WISC Discord group from the G5 Cyber Security Foundation Ltd. Learn more about WISC (Women in InfoSec Caribbean) at wiscaribbean.org. WISC is a non-profit initiative supporting Caribbean women and girls to develop a career in Information Security.