Government must prove accuracy of ID cards technology - says QinetiQ chief

New survey reveals public's ambitions for biometrics and ID cards

As the House of Lords prepares to examine the ID cards Bill, new research published today reveals that while four in five people (78%) accept that biometric information on ID cards is the most secure and certain way of proving their identity, half the population are worried about the security of the government's ID card scheme. The survey, by security technology specialists QinetiQ, also shows that general concerns about identity theft run high, with seven in ten (70%) people worried about their identity being stolen, nearly half of these (47%) saying they are most worried about someone accessing their personal finances as a result.

The QinetiQ survey, carried out by NOP World, examines the views of 1,000 British people towards the uses of, and technologies behind, ID cards. The government's legislation centres on an individual ID card which carries biometric and other identifying information, supported by a central database of individuals' details.

Seven in 10 (69%) people want to use the proposed ID card as a ‘one-stop identifier' for their transactions and purchases. More than four in five (84%) would like it used to make important medical information available in an emergency, and around seven in 10 to gain access to public services such as benefits or to open a bank account (72% and 69% respectively). Nearly seven in 10 (67%) people say they would be willing to carry an ID card with them at all times if the government obliged them to.

The research suggests a widespread acceptance of biometric technologies, with around nine in 10 people (87%) saying they are happy that their biometric information is used to prove their identity if it makes that identity more difficult to steal, and eight in 10 (82%) if it makes their everyday transactions simpler and more convenient.

Commenting on these results, QinetiQ chairman Dame Pauline Neville-Jones says:

"British people have a commonsense understanding of the benefits that ID cards and the technologies behind them could bring in today's electronic society. They evidently see the advantages of having a secure method of verifying their identity which will simplify their lives, as well as helping to combat identity theft."

She points out that underlying concerns about the security of the government's ID card scheme - 31% say they are ‘quite worried' and 18% ‘very worried' about the security of the system - underscore the need for government to convince people of its security:

"While people are clearly aware of the potential benefits of biometric technologies, proof of accuracy is obviously essential to the success of the entire scheme, not least in order to reassure the public. For example, while a combination of biometrics is likely to be the most accurate way of verifying and securing people's identity, the technologies are not yet proven for this purpose. Before investing millions in a national scheme the government should conduct a full evaluation of the biometric and database technologies behind the system using sophisticated computer modelling, which the ID cards Bill does not provide for."

The concerns of those worried about security of the ID cards system take several forms:
- personal information could be obtained by thieves from lost or stolen cards (91%)
- identity could be stolen, for example if personal details on the card were used to impersonate its owner (91%)
- the central database may be vulnerable to hacking (90%)
- the card could be forged (87%)
- personal details on the database could be used without permission (86%)
- human error like accidental deletion of personal details could affect everyday transactions (86%)
- computer malfunctions on the central database could affect personal details (81%)

A final concern expressed by six in 10 (57%) of those worried about the security of the proposed system is that personal details could be accessed by government to check people's whereabouts without their knowledge. Dame Pauline explains that the ID cards Bill makes provision for a system which would facilitate such a practice:

"A key issue - largely undebated - is whether ID authentication should ‘match on card' or ‘match online'. Matching on card means that personal data is stored on the ID card and can be read locally by an appropriate machine reader. Matching online means that each time data is accessed the reader must link with the central database - a far more cumbersome and costly system, which can pinpoint the time and location of every transaction and thus the whereabouts of the cardholder. It is this second system which the Bill provides for.

"A well-designed system with the proper safeguards will authenticate identity without infringing people's civil liberties, and will also simplify their lives. But in order to gain confidence and minimise confusion we not only need to prove the underpinning technologies; we also need transparency concerning the intentions behind the proposed legislation."