Fingerprint scans could soon be used to register mobile phone SIM cards in Bahrain as part of efforts to curb fraud and misuse.

Such so-called ‘biometric scans’, which can also include iris recognition, palm print scans and DNA analysis, have been proposed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) in its second round of public consultation on the rules regarding registration of SIM cards and associated services, said a report in the Gulf Daily News (GDN), our sister publication.

The TRA initially sought the public's opinion on proposed changes to the way prepaid mobiles were registered in Bahrain in February, citing a large number of prepaid SIM cards registered to individual Commercial Registration (CR) and Central Population Registration (CPR) numbers as the reason for the move.

Lax registration and verification of subscriber information have made it unclear who is using a phone or service at any given time, according to the authority.

This has ‘led to numerous instances of fraud’ where SIM cards had been registered ‘using counterfeit CPR and passport copies which are then charged to individuals who have never taken out such services’, it said in a statement, adding that a number of security concerns related to the use of SIM cards "apply equally" to prepaid and post-paid services.

Following responses from Batelco, Zain, Viva, Menatelecom, the Indian Embassy and others to the initial consultation, the TRA "decided to propose further changes to the existing regulation and issue a second round of consultation on the requirement to register (all) SIM card-enabled telecommunications services", it said.

If approved, within three months of the new regulations coming into force all shops and outlets that provide SIM card-enabled telecoms services, including mobile phones and mobile Internet, must "have in place an electronic solution that is capable of conducting a biometric scan", according to the consultation.

This device must be capable of determining a person's identity "through that person's physical features including, but not limited to, the fingerprints". Such wording paves the way for different types of biometric scan to be used in the future, including methods such as iris recognition or eye-scanning.

This is reinforced by the TRA's assertion in the consultation that it "may, in future, prescribe an alternative electronic solution for affected licensees to conduct biometric scans, provided that (the TRA) shall give interested parties an opportunity to give their opinions as to such measures within a reasonable period of time prior to their introduction".

Under the proposals, all the information that has been collected will be kept on a database for the duration of the subscriber's relationship with the telecoms company and "for one year after termination of the service". Both the TRA and "relevant national security agencies" will have access to this information as and when required, the consultation states.

Misuse

To view the public consultation document in full visit tra.org.bh and click on consultations within the next week.

The deadline to submit a response is April 23 at 4pm.

In June last year the GDN reported on the Pakistan Embassy's concerns that con men in Bahrain were stealing the identities of low-income expat workers, using them to register telecoms services and run up huge debts.

Just last week, a former telecoms company employee appeared in the dock to deny supplying rioters with SIM cards at the behest of a wanted religious cleric.

The 26-year-old Bahraini appeared at the High Criminal Court alongside three other defendants accused of using SIM cards for terrorist acts.

Their trial was adjourned until April 27 for prosecution witnesses to be summoned. - TradeArabia News Service