DLP leader has no confidence in security of digital IDs

The impact of recent cyber attacks on several government agencies, including the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), suggests that government infrastructure does not have the capacity to fully secure information linked to a digital identification card.

That is the position of President of the Democratic Labour Party Dr. Ronnie Yearwood who rubbished claims that he was “fear-mongering” and reiterated his call for the Government to address the concerns of Barbadians on the matter.

“What is so urgent about the introduction of a digital ID in Barbados when it is clear that the Government of Barbados does not have the capacity or the infrastructure to deal with a digital ID? Every single major government institution in Barbados has been hacked – the QEH, the police service, e-payment, every single one of them and yet we are to believe and trust the Government of Barbados,” Dr Yearwood said on Sunday at the DLP’s St Philip West Branch Meeting at Clara’s Place, Four Roads.

He also questioned the pace at which the legislation to facilitate the Trident ID, the Barbados Identity Management Act, was “rushed” through Parliament in early 2021.

Pointing out that the older laminated ID card is set to expire at the end of this month and the new digital ID is therefore mandatory, the DLP leader said: “What the law does is that it creates one single point of identification for your use in Barbados and that is not correct. What the law should be doing is allowing for multiple sources of ID, such as your passport, such as your driver’s licence. This law discriminates against ordinary Barbadians and we need to stand up. It is time to stop complaining and complying.”

“It’s time the Government fixes the law and fixes the cyber security issue which the experts have identified,” he added, insisting that he had no intention of registering for the ID card until these concerns were addressed.

Last week, Prime Minister Mia Mottley dismissed criticism of the new Trident ID card as fear mongering, while Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology, Davidson Ishmael assured the public that their data will be safe.

Ishmael reiterated that the older ID cards were vulnerable to fraud and the Trident ID was a much more secure form of identification, as he encouraged those who had not yet registered to do so, and those whose cards were ready to collect them. (JB)