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   Big Brother in your pocket: Privacy advocates slam UK ID digital wallet   
   proposal   
      
   Date:   
   Fri, 24 Jan 2025 10:48:08 +0000   
      
   Description:   
   The GOV.UK Wallet app will allow citizens to carry government-issued IDs on   
   their phones. Yet, experts warn of privacy and security risks.   
      
   FULL STORY   
   ======================================================================   
      
   Privacy experts have slammed the UK government's plans to create a digital   
   identity wallet mobile app, describing it as "putting Big Brother in your   
   pocket."    
      
   The GOV.UK Wallet and App are a means "to simplify access to services and   
   documents," reads the official announcement published on Wednesday, January   
   21, 2025. Citizens will be able to carry government-issued ID documents, like   
   their drivers license or passport, directly on their phones  similar to how   
   many of us currently store our bank cards.    
      
   The plan echoes the EU Digital Identity Wallet scheme which passed last year   
   despite criticism from privacy experts . In the UK, like in the EU, the   
   concerns are the same  greater convenience shouldn't come at the expense of   
   increased surveillance and data security risks.   
      
   "Honeypot for hackers"    
      
   With the GOV.UK Wallet set to be launched during the summer, Britons will    
   soon be able to scan their ID documents digitally within the app to make it   
   easier to prove their age or identity as needed.    
      
   The ID Wallet app will also enable citizens to easily manage all of their   
   government activities and access public services in one place. Do you know?   
   (Image credit: Photo by Diego Puletto/Getty Images) On December 4, 2024, the   
   EU Digital Identity Wallet landed in Italy despite privacy concerns, with a   
   local journalist deeming the IT Wallet as "the EU digital cage." All Italians   
   can now digitally scan their driving license and health card directly from    
   the IO app, if they wish to do so as the service is voluntary at the time of   
   writing.    
      
   Despite the benefits, Silkie Carlo, Director of UK-based privacy advocate   
   group Big Brother Watch is concerned by the huge amount of personal   
   information that will go into the app.    
      
   "The Government is putting Big Brother in your pocket with a new app to    
   access all your identity documents and more," she warns,    
   The government assures that the "technology will make use of security   
   features that are built into modern smartphones, including facial recognition   
   checks similar to those used when people pay using a digital bank card."    
      
   Carlo, however, is still worried about the security risks of storing such   
   sensitive identifier information within one single application. She said:    
   "The addition of our facial recognition data makes this sprawling identity   
   system incredibly sensitive, intrusive, and a honeypot for hackers."    
      
   After all, the UK public system has a bad track record in keeping people's   
   data safe. In March last year, for example, a ransomware gang hacked Into NHS   
   Dumfries and Galloway 's digital database and stole 3TB of identifying   
   information belonging to both staff and patients.   
      
   As mentioned earlier, the GOV.UK Wallet is set to be launched in the summer    
   of 2025, for both iOS and Android devices. The digital version of the Veteran   
   Card will become available first, with the mobile drivers license following   
   later in the year. All other ID documents and digital services are expected    
   to be up and running by 2027.    
      
   According to the UK Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, this represents a   
   "game changer" for all Brits using their driving license as ID. "The   
   innovation puts power back in the hands of the people, making everyday   
   interactions faster, easier, and more secure," she added.    
      
   This is not how Carlo from Big Brother Watch feels. While the UK government   
   should modernize its ID system and give people digital options, she believes   
   this approach risks achieving the opposite than intended  "actually narrowing   
   our choices and control over our own data," said Carlo.    
      
   All in all, Carlo thinks that this system will ultimately disadvantage all   
   people who still rely on non-digital ID forms. She said: "Despite our   
   campaign, the government is inexplicably refusing to legally protect the    
   right to use non-digital ID, and hasn't set out whether we can control how   
   much of our sensitive information will be available via this wallet."   
      
   ======================================================================   
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.techradar.com/computing/cyber-security/big-brother-in-your-pocket-   
   privacy-advocates-slam-uk-id-digital-wallet-proposal   
      
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