DICT: Link SIM registry to national ID database

MANILA, Philippines — The SIM card registry of three telecommunications firms in the Philippines must be linked to the national ID database for the authentication of identities, according to the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

The DICT wants the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) and three telco firms to link their registries to the DICT e-Gov app’s National ID database.

This would be implemented alongside the agency’s planned SIM card registration audit, said DICT Undersecretary for infostructure management, cybersecurity and upskilling Jeffrey Ian Dy.

“We will compare based on (the data) in the national ID and other IDs available in digital form through (the) e-Gov app,” Dy told The STAR.

The audit would check and update the subscriber database of SIM card holders amid persistent text scams and unsolicited text promos despite the enforcement of the SIM card registration law, Dy said earlier.

The Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center announced last month their plan to go after erring telcos allegedly providing service to subscribers whose SIM cards were not registered with the NTC.