SIM card users required to register with fingerprints, face from 15 Dec

**misskit** · 07-11-2017, 05:25 AM

BANGKOK, 6th November 2017 (NNT) - SIM card users in Thailand will be required to register with a new digital identity platform from 15th December this year in the government’s effort to increase mobile phone safety. The information will be classified.

Secretary-General of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission (NBTC), Thakorn Tanthasit, said the NBTC has asked all mobile phone operators to collect the information of mobile phone users on the new digital identity platform for both post-paid and pre-paid users effective from 15th December 2017 nationwide. 55,000 locations have been prepared for the registration process.

SIM card buyers are required to show their citizen ID card at a service point. The system will verify their fingerprints and facial features so that they can buy a SIM card. If the two biometrics match, they can then use the SIM card. This is a government measure to prevent SIM card registration fraud.

The NBTC secretary-general assured SIM card users that their personal information will be stored confidentially.

There are over four million new mobile phone numbers in use through Thailand's various operators each month. People already using SIM cards will be able to register with the new system for their own safety.

http://nwnt.prd.go.th/CenterWeb/News...O6011060010017

**Wilsonandson** · 07-11-2017, 07:22 AM

But, as it turns out, biometrics are not as safe or foolproof as you might believe.

Today if you are one of the tens of millions of victims affected by identity theft, it is possible to get a new credit card or even Social Security number. If your Facebook or bank account is hacked, you can reset your password. But when your fingerprints are stolen, there is no reset. They are permanent identification markers, and one snagged by hackers is out of your control forever. When your gym, mobile phone company, and doctor all have your biometric details and those systems become hacked—as they undoubtedly will—remediation of the problem will prove much more difficult, if not impossible.

In other words, if the future of identity is all about biometrics, then the future of identity theft will involve stealing and compromising biometrics, and thieves and scammers are already hard at work circumventing these systems. To demonstrate this threat, Tsutomu Matsumoto, a security researcher at Yokohama National University, has devised a method allowing him to “take a photograph of a latent fingerprint (on a wineglass, for example)” and re-create it in molded gelatin. The technique is good enough to fool biometric scanners 80 percent of the time. Hackers have also used everyday child’s Play-Doh to create fingerprint molds good enough to fool 90 percent of fingerprint readers.

Still, governments and businesses are trying to persuade the public of the superior safety and security offered by biometrics. In Germany in 2008, a public debate erupted over the issue when the country’s chief cop and interior minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, began strongly advocating for the greater use of fingerprint biometrics. In response, a hacker group known as the Chaos Computer Club lifted the minister’s fingerprint off a water glass that he had left behind after delivering a public speech at a local university. The hackers then successfully copied the print and reproduced it in molded plastic—4,000 times. The replica prints were distributed as a special insert in the club’s hacker magazine along with an article encouraging readers to use the print to impersonate the minister, opening the door to planting his fingerprints at crime scenes.

Proponents of biometric security also argue it is inherently more secure because fingerprints are an immutable physical attribute that can’t be altered by criminals. Well, turns out, that’s not true either, as the 27-year-old Chinese national Lin Ring proved in 2009. Lin paid doctors in China $14,600 to change her fingerprints so that she could bypass the biometric sensors used in Japan’s airports by immigration authorities. In order to sneak back in, she paid Chinese surgeons to swap the fingerprints from her right and left hands, having her finger pads regrafted onto the opposite hands. The ploy worked, and she was successfully admitted. It was only weeks later, when she attempted to marry a 55-year-old Japanese man, that authorities noticed the odd scarring on her fingertips. Japanese police report that doctors in China have created a thriving business in biometric surgery and that Lin was the ninth person they had arrested that year for surgically medicated biometric fraud.

Needless to say, such draconian measures would not be necessary if hackers could merely intercept the fingerprint data from the Internet of Things–enabled biometric scanner as it was sent to the computer server for processing—something the security researcher Matt Lewis has already demonstrated at the Black Hat hacker conference in Europe. Lewis created the first-ever Biologger, the equivalent of a malware keystroke logger, which, rather than capturing all the keystrokes somebody innocently typed on her computer, could effectively steal all the fingerprint scans processed on an infected scanner. Lewis demonstrated that his biologging device allowed him to analyze and reuse the data he had captured to undermine biometric systems, granting access to supposedly “secure buildings.” While it is tempting to believe that biometric authentication is inherently more impenetrable than legacy password systems, the assumption only holds true if the new systems are actually implemented in a more secure fashion. Otherwise, it’s just old wine in a new bottle.

The same holds true for facial recognition technologies, which have improved their match rates significantly and now can approach 98 percent accuracy. Today there are even systems that can match your face to your Facebook profile within 60 seconds as you walk down the street and derive your Social Security number 60 seconds later. But these developments are surely not without their problems. Just as fingerprint sensors can be hacked, so too can face-printing systems increasingly be used to unlock your phone or computer or to gain access to your office. All it takes to defeat some systems, such as those on Lenovo laptops or smartphone password apps such as FastAccess Anywhere, is to hold up a photograph of the person you wish to impersonate. This very technique has also worked with iris scanning, allowing hackers to reverse engineer the biometric information stored in a secure database and use it to print a photographic iris good enough to fool most commercial eye scanners.

http://www.slate.com/articles/techno..._and_more.html

**Luigi** · 07-11-2017, 07:34 AM

Originally Posted by misskit

The NBTC secretary-general assured SIM card users that their personal information will be stored confidentially.

Yeah, on a computer platform where the username is Admin and the password is 12345.

Written down and stuck onto the side of the monitor on a stickynote.

**baldrick** · 07-11-2017, 07:37 AM

Originally Posted by Luigi

Written down and stuck onto the side of the monitor on a stickynote.

if they didn't do that they might forget it

**misskit** · 31-01-2018, 07:19 AM

Thailand to require biometric registration for SIM cards

Measure to combat terrorism and boost digital security raises privacy concerns

BANGKOK -- Thailand will require anyone buying a SIM card in the country -- a central part of mobile phones -- to register fingerprints or facial scans in a government database, a security measure that some worry could be abused to give the ruling junta broad surveillance capabilities.

The government launched a biometric registration system for prepaid SIM cards in December. This will be extended in February to include postpaid contracts, covering nearly all SIM cards sold in the country. The fingerprint and facial scans are linked to the SIM cards' respective phone numbers and stored in a database operated by the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission.

If SIM card suppliers -- including mobile carriers such as Advanced Info Service, Total Access Communication and True -- fail to comply with the registration requirement, they could face fines or have their licenses suspended.

The system is intended partly as an anti-terrorism measure, according to the government. Thailand has seen numerous bombings in which cellphones were used to detonate explosives, using the electric current that flows through a phone when it receives a call. This technique was reportedly used in the August 2015 bombing at Erawan Shrine in downtown Bangkok, which killed 20 people, and a string of attacks at resorts in southern Thailand in August 2016.

Cellphone detonators allow bombs to be set off from a distance, making it tougher to track down the culprit. Using prepaid phones, which do not need to be linked to a credit card or bank account, can complicate matters further.

Authorities believe that tying SIM cards to biometric data will help deal with a wide range of offenses beyond terrorism as well, helping police apprehend criminals while also providing a source of evidence. "We also want to require registration of previously purchased SIM cards in order to protect the public," NBTC Secretary-General Takorn Tantasith said in November.

But some worry that the system will be ripe for abuse. Combining personal identifiers with location and other data that can be gleaned from a phone could give authorities a detailed picture of a given person's day-to-day activities.

"We didn't need to do this before," Aphiralak Namkhonon, a 38-year-old office worker who bought a prepaid SIM card from a phone dealer, said with a frown. "I don't feel good about it from a privacy perspective."

The requirement applies to international visitors as well. Mark Wallace, an American who plans to stay in Thailand for a month, remarked that it felt strange, noting that the U.S. doesn't require biometric data when buying a SIM card.

A 2016 survey by Thailand's National Statistical Office showed that 50.5% of those aged 6 or older used smartphones. Some private-sector research firms see this figure approaching 100% in 2019. The government is considering other ways to use the biometric data it collects from phone owners, including linking it to a digital identity platform due to roll out as early as 2019, a step that could make financial services such as online banking more secure.

https://asia.nikkei.com/Politics-Eco...-for-SIM-cards

**harrybarracuda** · 31-01-2018, 11:39 AM

They don't seem to realise that if your password gets stolen, you can change it.

If your fingerprint gets stolen that's it fucked for life.

**david44** · 31-01-2018, 03:27 PM

So where doo you go?

Is it like last time where they realized millions I guess almost every adult has one or more sims up to 100 million still valid?

Will they switch us off while overseas or queue up at a Thai consulate to be cool as a mountain streaM/

Any members actually done it, I've no probs the goverment knowing my goat preferences or approval of all things they do if they could just be clear? Our lad actually works for AIS and he hasn't wife's never heard of it here in the sticks. If there is a location in C Mai Airport Plaza be handy as one of the few malls I endure while the ladies browse, nice Lanna food Court and some quiet restos of high priced Nipponese scooff so pricey keeps the screaming brats and great unwashed flang chavs in Manchester Sports "Attire" out

A chip under the foreskin that could be used for entry payments would be the 1 stop service we need

**misskit** · 31-01-2018, 05:30 PM

Nary a word about it from DTAC. They send a constant stream of SMS but nothing about fingerprints and biometrics.

**harrybarracuda** · 31-01-2018, 05:41 PM

Originally Posted by misskit

Nary a word about it from DTAC. They send a constant stream of SMS but nothing about fingerprints and biometrics.

They probably realise what a shit idea it is.

Originally, it was to stop terrorists in the South triggering bombs via mobile phone.

Then someone pointed out they can use any old SIM card...

**HuangLao** · 31-01-2018, 05:52 PM

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

They probably realise what a shit idea it is.

Originally, it was to stop terrorists in the South triggering bombs via mobile phone.

Then someone pointed out they can use any old SIM card...

You'll find that most of these actions or proposed policies never have a proper follow through - mostly talk and not practice.
Very Thai authoritarian.
.....and no one cares to pay attention.

**harrybarracuda** · 31-01-2018, 07:01 PM

Originally Posted by HuangLao

You'll find that most of these actions or proposed policies never have a proper follow through - mostly talk and not practice.
Very Thai authoritarian.
.....and no one cares to pay attention.

Well the last time they did registration, I did it at the little AIS shop behind the hotel. Takes two minutes, not really a chore.

No doubt their reasoning this time is to determine if there are any Thais not feeling the happiness.

**pseudolus** · 31-01-2018, 07:04 PM

Originally Posted by misskit

Thailand to require biometric registration for SIM cards

Measure to combat terrorism and boost digital security raises privacy concerns

Terrorists and criminals who want to use a cellphone will bosh someone on the head and use their phone so anyone believing this load of tosh needs their heads read.

It's about the State verses the People - keeping the sheep in line and under constant scrutiny. Same as will be the case in every country, cheered on by the flag wavers.... FOR FREEDOM.

**crackerjack101** · 31-01-2018, 08:45 PM

My wife bought a couple of SIM cards the other day.
No finger prints, no bio-metrics.
They did, however, copy her ID card and took her photo.
She asked "Why the photo, you've copied my ID?"
They replied, "We don't know."

pip pip

**OhOh** · 31-01-2018, 09:45 PM

No problem. Most phones have cameras. Most phones have factory installed software. The software can take photos and send the photos to whoever it decides.

It wouldn't surprise me if the phone also is able to scan a finger print when you swipe the scree.

Both without confirming your consent.

**cyrille** · 31-01-2018, 10:25 PM

Originally Posted by pseudolus

Terrorists and criminals who want to use a cellphone will bosh someone on the head and use their phone

An ingenious method that I'm thankful nobody thought of for 9/11, but I think buying a SIM over the counter without showing any ID would make tracing it back to terrorists a lot harder.

**DJ Pat** · 31-01-2018, 10:49 PM

Buy a sim card at most IT malls/markets and they won't even glance up from their phones as they take your money. You can even choose a number from a list stuck on the wall.

**baldrick** · 01-02-2018, 11:52 AM

Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Then someone pointed out they can use any old SIM card..

Or what range push to talk is capable of

**misskit** · 03-02-2018, 04:54 AM

NBTC inspects SIM card registration using new biometric identification system

BANGKOK, 2 February 2018, (NNT) - The Office of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) has inspected the SIM card registration process in Mega Bangna shopping complex.

The registration process is now required to use the new biometric identification system that records facial features and fingerprints of SIM card owners, regardless of their mobile service providers.

According to NBTC Deputy Secretary-General Korkij Danchaivichit, the new registration method was put in place on February 1st. Customers who wish to register a new SIM card can bring only their ID card to a service center of their preferred mobile network operators or any of their 50,000 sales representatives nationwide. All of the major carriers - AIS, DTAC, TRUE, TOT and CAT - are reportedly ready to adopt the new method.

The new biometric identification system would protect SIM card holders from identity theft and prevent SIM cards from duplicate registration. Mobile network operators will scan faces or fingerprints of their customers when registering a new SIM card. Users’ data will be kept confidential, in accordance with the nation’s law on information technology, which disallows the operators to keep customers' information at their service centers.

National News Bureau Of Thailand | NBTC inspects SIM card registration using new biometric identification system

**DJ Pat** · 03-02-2018, 10:19 AM

Those phone shops/stalls in most lT malls where the white man goes.

If l have a problem/question about my prepaid true simcard l prefer to talk to someone who's clued up, knows the best deals and is knowledgable. And speaks decent english.

That rules out any true shops straight away.

**david44** · 03-02-2018, 10:28 AM

Some folks 'll pay god money for indecent too

**Norton** · 03-02-2018, 01:20 PM

Originally Posted by misskit

AIS, DTAC, TRUE, TOT and CAT - are reportedly ready to adopt the new method.

They may be "ready" but will believe they are doing it when I see it. I have AIS, wife DTAC, kids True. Nary a word from any on the subject.

**lom** · 03-02-2018, 01:54 PM

Originally Posted by Norton

I have AIS, wife DTAC, kids True. Nary a word from any on the subject.

Why would there be? This is only for simcard bought after Feb 1st.

**Norton** · 03-02-2018, 08:00 PM

Well that would explain it then.

**DrB0b** · 04-02-2018, 04:33 AM

Originally Posted by pseudolus

Terrorists and criminals who want to use a cellphone will bosh someone on the head and use their phone so anyone believing this load of tosh needs their heads read.

Originally Posted by cyrille

An ingenious method that I'm thankful nobody thought of for 9/11, but I think buying a SIM over the counter without showing any ID would make tracing it back to terrorists a lot harder.

Indeed. In Ireland the IRA were the mainstay of the car industry as it would never have occurred to them to steal a car whenever they needed one for a robblery, bombing, or shooting. They would pop down to the garage, buy a nice shiny new motor, and blow it up or burn it out when finished. This explains how the British had fully defeated the IRA by 1973.

Thread: SIM card users required to register with fingerprints, face from 15 Dec

Thread Tools

Display

SIM card users required to register with fingerprints, face from 15 Dec

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

Posting Permissions