The state will take under protection the biometric data of citizens

A unified biometric system in Russia has become a reality. The government has obliged all third-party organizations to submit the biometrics of Russian citizens stored by them to a single bank by the end of September. Now identification of a person using biometric data, which just yesterday was just a plot for science fiction thrillers, is firmly and, it seems, forever included in our everyday life.

It must be admitted that Russia was moving faster than other countries in the world towards the digitalization of society. Therefore, today it has become common for us to log into a banking application on a mobile phone using facial identification, cross borders with a biometric passport, and access our own computer using a fingerprint. At the same time, the advanced population easily, and without thinking about the consequences, transfers their biometrics to banks in order to get a loan, to overseas owners of digital ecosystems such as Google, Apple – in order to make payments using smartphones in a simplified manner, and to employers implementing entry systems into the office on biometrics. Therefore, it is strange that the news about the transfer of all previously collected biometric data to the Unified Biometric System (UBS) excited people so much and even forced them to apply en masse to refuse the collection and storage of biometric data.

The reasons for the ambiguous reaction may be completely different, but in any case, the validity of doubts and fears is questionable because the EBS, like any information system, is created and functions according to clearly established rules. And yet, let’s look at the main reasons for refusing to participate in the EBS.

First of all, people fear that the state will receive a tool for secret surveillance of citizens. And we really don’t like it. So, we must immediately state that the EBS was created exclusively as a reliable repository of biometric data, access to which only the owner himself, that is, the same citizen who is still in doubt, has access to. In addition, the new system is not integrated in any way, and cannot be integrated, due to the rules of its operation, with city video surveillance systems and street cameras.

It should be noted that a citizen who has already transferred his biometrics to a bank or other organization at least once cannot now know how and for what this data is used. And over time, he will not remember at all to whom and when he transferred his biometrics.

In the new situation, the EBS, which has received digital information from third-party organizations, will be responsible to people for the safety of the biometrics once transferred. And a citizen will be able to find out the history and fate of his data at any time. All this information will be available in your personal account on the government services portal. At the same time, you can refuse their further collection and processing of personal information. Moreover, the refusal can be declared at any time without any time limits.

Among the reasons for the distrust of the EBS is the fear that data collected in one place could end up in the hands of cybercriminals. In this regard, we must remember that the network has widely publicized the possibility for hackers to obtain incriminating evidence on famous people using their biometrics. In fact, these circumstances were precisely an additional reason for the state to create a centralized repository of biometric data, where the state will guarantee the fulfillment of all requirements for their transfer, storage and protection.

The state imposes increased requirements on the EBS, which are difficult to meet even for banks, not to mention other organizations. The system uses technology that distinguishes a person from a photograph, recorded video, or other means of simulation. To ensure security when working with biometrics, several types of forgery detection are used.

Despite the fact that biometrics will be stored only in the EBS, entrepreneurs will continue to use familiar technologies and increase the convenience and accessibility of services. But now, instead of a person’s biometric profile, a business will receive only a “vector” – this is a special code that does not contain the biometric data themselves. It is transmitted to external systems from the EBS via secure communication channels, in the form of mathematically processed models, that is, in an impersonal form, separately from the personal data of citizens, which include last name, first name, patronymic, address, etc.

Experts say that it is impossible to restore a photograph or voice based on the model of stored biometric data. If hackers do gain access to biometrics, they will not be able to understand who it belongs to, because biometrics are not tied to the user’s personal data. In reality, much worse are ordinary scammers who can obtain voice samples from a telephone conversation recording, and photographs from social networks.

Among the persistent “refusers” of taking biometrics, there are those who consider it unnecessary to use new services based on biometric data offered by the state. The principle: I never use anything anyway, it has an iron logic that is pointless to argue with.

Indeed, at the initial stage, not all citizens will see the need for a digital service. Meanwhile, with the help of biometrics, you can already obtain a qualified electronic signature certificate, open an account, deposit or get a loan from a bank, conclude an agreement for the provision of mobile communication services, and issue a fan card remotely. There will be many more similar services in the future. In the near future, wherever a passport is now required (at the MFC, at the bank, when boarding a train, when opening a business remotely), it will be possible to confirm your identity through biometrics.

Thus, all the main reasons for refusing to collect and process biometric data in the EBS seem quite far-fetched and not serious. Indeed, in the era of digital everyday life, biometrics becomes not only a right, but also an important asset of modern people.

Anna Sutyrina, Director of the Institute for Legal Regulation Problems, National Research University Higher School of Economics