Industry regulator Icasa has drafted regulations that will require South Africa’s mobile network operators to collect subscriber biometric data.
The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa has published draft regulations that will require mobile network operators to collect subscriber biometric data.“Over a period, the Authority has been presented with concerns wherein mobile numbers have been hijacked either through a porting and/or SIM swap transaction,” Icasa explained.
Icasa believes that associating mobile numbers with subscriber biometric data will help curb the hijacking of cellphone numbers. “Thus, this form of authentication is in practice and is a possible remedy to ensure that subscribers do not lose control of their assigned mobile numbers.”