AUSTRALIA’S NEW DIGITAL ID COULD CHANGE GOING OUT FOREVER
The government’s proposed new digital ID where a mobile phone will replace physical documents has sparked widespread concerns from security experts and non-Labor MPs.
Government Services Minister Bill Shorten announced a $11.4million trial of a QR code mobile phone application that would replace a driver’s licence card or passport to verify a person’s identity.
The Trust Exchange, or TEx program, will link to a person’s myGov wallet, or the upcoming digital ID, to verify who a person is and provide requested information, such as proof of age to gain entry to a pub or club.
Mr Shorten said TEx could be used to confirm a hotel reservation without the customer having to hand over a licence or other form of ID, and such uses could reduce the amount of information private businesses collect.
In the case of someone needing to prove their age, the TEx could show the user was over 18 without revealing details like a home address.
The technology could store and divulge information such as someone’s date of birth, address, citizenship, visa status, qualifications, occupational licences or working with children check, and any other information held by the government.
While Mr Shorten hailed it as a ‘world-leading’ means of identification when he addressed the National Press Club address in Canberra, others have fears over a person’s entire identity being accessible on one device.
Cyber-security expert Shara Evans said it could be risky putting ‘all eggs into one basket’.
‘I do like the idea of making it easy to verify identify without giving away personal sensitive details and having this sensitive data stored all over the place,’ she said.
‘However, this needs to be thought out very carefully with plans in place for full rapid identity renewal in the event of a data breach/compromise/lost consumer device.’
‘I am always a bit concerned whenever a great deal of sensitive information is stored in a single place, irrespective of who is doing the collecting and monitoring, because there are just so many nefarious ways that information can be compromised.’
Mr Shorten assured his audience it would be an ‘opt-in’ system where ‘you choose what is shared, you consent to what is being shared and you can trust it is shared safely’.
‘We’re getting this moving and it is on track to happen by the end of 2024.
Read more >>> How Australia’s new ‘digital ID’ could change going out forever – but here’s why some experts are worried | Daily Mail Online
