The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has announced that starting in October, it will issue soldier identification cards that also serve as debit cards. They will be "smart cards" that contain personal information, medical records, and electronic money. The private business Military Mutual Aid Association (MMAA) is supposed to be contracted to run the new identity card program.
According to the order requests the MMAA sent potential subcontractors for the database work, all data on current and reserve soldiers will be collected into MMAA's system. Putting sensitive personal data and military information and intelligence into the hands of private companies is terribly dangerous. The risk that the information will be leaked and abused is too great. In response to this concern the ministry says it is going to change its plans so that the MMAA is not made to maintain personal data, but that does not mean the dangers are gone.
The basic idea of having many forms of data in a single card is itself a problem. Putting different data in one place increases efficiency, but the risk of data ending up in the wrong hands increases dramatically. Data security is becoming increasingly important with advances in computerization. At this point everyone knows there is no such thing as a perfect security system, and so the safest solution is to not compile together sensitive data. This is the same reason the government once had to drop plans to issue electronic national identity cards. Having the military maintain all that data instead of commissioning a private entity to do it does not reduce the risk that hackers can make away with it either.
As the cards the ministry has in mind will be for current and reserve soldiers, the total number of cards will reach millions in a matter of years. It is hard to tell what negative side effects there will be in terms of lost cards and identity theft once they are issued in so many numbers, and it will cost a lot to establish measures to fight them. Furthermore there right now there are growing allegations that the MMAA has been receiving special favors. The program must be stopped, as it involves risks that military intelligence and personal information will be publicly exposed.
The Hankyoreh, 14 March 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] MND Must Stop New ID Card Program |
