Gabriel Attal, Minister of Public Accounts, announced the plan to merge the vital card and the identity card envisaged by the government to fight against social fraud. How would that work?
A single secure card that would contain all the information recorded on identity cards and vital cards. This is one of the government’s measures to fight against social fraud, but the project presented by the Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Attal, in the columns of the Parisian Monday, May 29, 2023, has something to ask. This merger of the two documents seems to have already been matured behind the scenes since two scenarios have been studied by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF), but neither seems sufficiently convincing yet. The National Commission for Computing and Liberties (Cnil) has expressed reservations about the methods of merging data which can still be refined by the end of the year. Minister Gabriel Attal expects a report at the end of 2023 which must specify “the timetable and the methods” of the project.
Two proposals for merging identity and health data are on the table. Detailed in a report by the General Inspectorate of Finance (IGF) that Tech&Co was able to consult, the two tracks provide for the addition of the social security number in the chip or the QR code present on the new identity cards in credit card format issued since 2021:
- Integration of the social security number in the chip of the identity card : the information formerly recorded on the vital card could be placed in a specific compartment of the chip of the identity card. Separated from information only linked to the identity of the card holder, the health data would also be encrypted so as not to be accessible to people other than health professionals.
- Integration of the social security number in the QR code of the identity card : health data could be included in a new QR code encryption.
Any drawbacks to the merger of vital and identity cards?
The Cnil remains to be convinced about the security of merging the data currently separated on two documents. The objective is to ensure that data related to a person’s health will not be accessible by everyone from the identity card. However, the Commission has a preference for the first option, that of integrating information via the identity card chip, which appears to be the “least intrusive and least risky solution from a technical point of view”, reports Tech&Co. But this solution is only possible if the information is compartmentalized and encrypted so that it can only be read by health professionals.
The hypothesis involving the use of the QR code does not seem to guarantee “a sufficient level of security” since all people equipped with a QR code reader application could, a priori, access the health data of only one individual. with his identity card or a photocopy.
Should I redo my identity card? When ?
Whatever the solution chosen, a fusion of data “would require an evolution of the technical characteristics of identity documents” and could lead to the replacement of all current identity cards, points out the Cnil. On this point, it seems that the additional compartment necessary for recording health data could be added to the electronic chip of identity cards already issued since 2021 according to the national printing office, i.e. between 6 and 7 million identity cards. ‘identify. With regard to other identity cards, “we can imagine a model where, from a certain date, when you redo your identity card it automatically becomes your vital card”, suggested Gabriel Attal on Monday May 29. in front of journalists reports Capital.
If the project of the merger of the vital card and the identity card has been put on the table, the measure is only in its infancy. The conditions for this change could be specified at the end of 2023, but its implementation is not expected for several months. “This project cannot be considered until the card production times have returned to normal” also specified the Minister of Public Accounts.