eGov Jamaica Testing Electronic Verification System for NIDS

Work is advanced in developing the technology architecture that will be utilised for the electronic verification of persons under the National Identification System (NIDS).

Senior Technical Specialist, eGov Jamaica, Walt Brown, said that the framework for the web-based system has been completed and is undergoing testing.

He was speaking at a Think Tank at the JIS’s Half-Way Tree Road headquarters in St. Andrew on Tuesday (July 24).

NIDS will provide a comprehensive and secure structure to capture and store the personal identity information of citizens.

Under the system, which will have anti-fraud features, every Jamaican or person ordinarily resident in Jamaica, will be issued a National Identification Number ((NIN) and National Identification Card (NIC) that will be used as the primary source of identity assurance and verification.

“Whatever engagement you have with Government or private enterprise, you will be able to have your identity electronically verified,” Mr. Brown noted.

Explaining the authentication process, he said that once a person presents their NIC, “there is a system that interfaces with the NIDS, to which Government will be linked to allow for verification, once consent is given”.

“The system will confirm if the person presenting the ID is a valid person on the NIDS, and if they are, in fact, the person on the ID being presented,” he pointed out.

He noted that NIS further allows for match-on-card biometric authentication through the touch of a fingerprint.

“If someone presents a card, there is a device where the person will stick the card and place their finger on it,” Mr. Brown explained.

“The system will then indicate whether or not the person, who puts their finger (on the device), is the owner of the card, as the owner’s fingerprint image would have been stored on the card,” he added.

NIDS also has capabilities for data retrieval against a national ID that is presented.

Meanwhile, Mr. Brown told JIS News that e-Gov Jamaica will be implementing the “best possible security that is available in the information technology industry” in order to safeguard the portal.

“We have taken the steps to ensure that we take on board all the best technical expertise worldwide,” Mr. Brown said, citing specialists from countries with high levels of security such as Estonia, France and Uruguay.