To fight against social fraud, Bercy is now considering sharing the vital card and the identity card.
In a report that Tech&Co was able to obtain, the General Finance Inspectorate (IGF) details the technical feasibility of such a merger, in particular through the use of the new identity card.
A specific compartment
Since March 2021, the identity card has adopted a new format. Similar to a bank card, it is now more secure and incorporates biometric data: two fingerprints associate it with its owner. The electronic national identity document (CNIe) also has a chip and a QR code with all the information it contains.
It is these two points that would be used to merge it with the vital letter. Thus, the social security number (NIR) could be placed in a specific compartment of the chip. Another possibility according to the IGF, this identifier would be integrated into the QR code present on the back of the CNIe.
In both cases, the challenge is keeping national identity and social security number information separate. This separation should ensure that only health professionals and facilities can collect a person’s social security number.
The General Treasury Inspectorate thus points out that these two types of information (identity card number and social security number) should only be attached when personalizing the identity card (of course, the last manufacturing step ). In fact, this task should only be carried out by personnel subject to professional secrecy.
A renewal of identity cards?
In its opinion integrated in the report, the CNIL, the French personal data police, seems to favor the addition of the social security number in a compartment of the CNIe chip instead of the use of the QR code.
In fact, the social security number would not be subject to a particular encryption during its integration in this QR code and would therefore be easily readable. However, the CNIL considers that the insertion of an “electronic seal” can be considered to encrypt the identifier.
There is still some vagueness about the need to renew the stock of national cards and residence permits. The National Printing Office ensures that the compartment within the token can be retrospectively added to most tokens for securities previously issued in 2021-2022. This represents 6 to 7 million CNIe.
However, the CNIL considers that the evolution of the technical characteristics of identity documents or their components, in particular the electronic chip, would require the replacement of already issued identity cards.
Be that as it may, Gabriel Attal assured that the work of merging the vital card and the identity card “can only be considered” when the deadlines for the renewal of the identity cards are normalized.
Source: BFM TV
