Ensure SIM registration safety, telcos urged

With the mandatory SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration set to start in less than two weeks, telecommunication companies and the government were urged to put up safeguards securing the confidential information of the subscribers.

“Telcos should ensure that there should be no waivers of confidentiality upon registration,” Infrawatch PH convener Terry Ridon told the Inquirer on Wednesday.

The policy think tank explained that waivers of confidentiality would allow telcos and government to use the private information for several purposes, including commercial objectives and law enforcement.

“Telcos and government should make specific guarantees of confidentiality that SIM registration will not include waiver of confidentiality as this has not been mentioned in the IRR (implementing rules and regulations),” Ridon said.

According to the IRR, individual users must provide their full name, date of birth, sex, address and valid government ID or similar documents with a photo. Business users, meanwhile, must provide their business name, business address and the full name of an authorized signatory.

In general, the Infrawatch official raised the need for a robust cybersecurity measure as the SIM card registration databases could be an attack surface for hackers.