Deputy Prime Minister Chernyshenko: e-passports will be introduced in Moscow, Moscow region and Tatarstan
Photo: Alexander Kazakov / Kommersant
The Russian government will start implementing a digital passport from 2023. The first pilot regions, whose residents will have access to such an option, will be Moscow, the Moscow region (Moscow region) and Tatarstan. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko announced this in an interview with RIA Novosti.
He noted that all technical tests of the electronic components of such a passport have already been carried out.
Chernyshenko recalled that a digital passport is analogous to an electronic bank card with a contactless chip. Also, if desired, the TIN, SNILS or driver's license number can be entered into the memory of the smart card.
The card, containing several degrees of protection against counterfeiting, will be marked with the personal data of the person, his photograph. All preparatory activities will be completed by the end of next year
Dmitry Chernyshenkovice Prime Minister of Russia
According to the Deputy Prime Minister, replacing a document with a smart card will remain the choice of every Russian citizen.
Electronic passports
In early December, the Minister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media Maksut Shadayev said that all differences on the draft decree on digital passports had been removed in Russia.
Our passport will be presented in two forms – the smart card itself, which should replace the traditional paper passport for everyone, the necessary information will be recorded on the chip of this smart card
Maksut ShadayevMinister of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media
The card will be called PEN – a passport with an electronic carrier. It will contain a QR code for reading information, which can be used to access the secure cloud. In the cloud, you can find all personal data: in addition to the photograph and information of the first spread of a traditional passport, a driver's license and an OMC policy can be stored there.
Unlike a regular passport, in an electronic document, the first name, last name, patronymic, date and place of birth, as well as the signature and date of issue of the document will be placed on one page. In this case, the validity of the passport is also indicated on the card.
The second option will be called MIG – a citizen's mobile identifier – and will be presented, accordingly, in the form of an application on the phone, which will allow in some cases not to show a smart card, but to show a QR code that will confirm a person's right to perform certain actions, he said. Shadayev.
Also, the new passport will contain biometric data of its owner, such as fingerprints. If you wish, you can leave your electronic signature in your passport.
It is expected that at the first stage, the number of new documents issued will be at least 100 thousand.
It is not planned to change foreign passports yet. However, the Ministry of Internal Affairs expects that countries where Russians enter according to an internal document will be allowed to enter with a plastic card.
From a legal point of view, the PEN will be equal in status to valid paper passports, have increased security measures, including cryptographic ones.
Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia
Weakness
Cybersecurity expert, head of the Zecurion analytical center, Vladimir Ulyanov, recalled that smart cards, as well as copies of digital passports in the phone, can pose a serious danger associated with theft of personal information by cybercriminals.
Of course, an electronic document is an additional risk. For example, attackers can copy and use personal data. But the implementation will be phased, it will not happen that one day everyone will be forced to abandon paper passports, especially since while the smart card is meant only as a duplicate
Vladimir Ulyanovexpert on cybersecurity, head of the analytical center Zecurion
To increase security, the expert recommends to guarantee the impossibility of issuing digital passports without the personal presence of the applicant, otherwise, this may result in identity theft. He also advised to refrain from a complete transition to the new format until the system is fully tuned and wait until all vulnerabilities have been identified in it.
Ulyanov stressed that people of the older generation should be transferred to digital passports as the last resort, since they are the ones who most often suffer from the actions of fraudsters.
Other innovations
From July 1, 2022, Russians will have electronic copies of documents. The Russian government has approved a list of documents for which it will be possible to issue electronic duplicates. At the moment, there are 19 documents on the list. This is a military ID, documents confirming the right to receive social support, a certificate of adoption, medical certificates, court decisions, education documents, registry office certificates, documents on disability.
The MFC employee will scan the document, certify it with an electronic digital signature and return it to the owner. After that, a duplicate will be stored in your personal account on the portal of public services, and when contacting the MFC or authorities, paper originals of documents will not be required.
In addition, in November, the Expert Institute for Social Research reported that covid certificates in Russia could become second passports. As the researchers clarified, electronic certificates of vaccination against COVID-19 have proven to be effective around the world. Experts urged to take into account world experience, especially to accept and work out mistakes.
