Sri Lanka will secure biometric data for its national ID system using cryptographic hashing, which converts data into non-reversible random values for enhanced security. Waruna Sri Dhanapala, Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy, said this measure will protect user identities and prevent unauthorized access. Sanjaya Karunasena, ICTA Director, highlighted that biometric-backed digital identity will undergo rigorous testing before public use. Harsha Purasinghe, ICTA board member, added that citizens will have secure digital lockers for personal data, integrated into the country’s Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to improve broadband and connectivity.
Sri Lankan government has already procured 350 units of biometric hardware, including high-resolution cameras and fingerprint scanners and a tender has been offered to purchase 400 more units.
The Department of Registration of Persons procured 700,000 polycarbonate cards from Thales for the Electronic National Identity Card (e-NIC) project, with plans to order 1.6 million more. Thales, a French multinational company based in Paris, specializes in defense, aerospace, and security technology. The project is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The e-NICs will include fingerprint, iris, and face recognition data, streamlining identification and integrating with the Sri Lanka Unique Digital ID project. An awareness program on e-NIC implementation was recently held at ICTA.
The Sri Lanka Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) project is also backed by India, which is providing financial and technical support through a grant covering nearly half of the project’s estimated cost of 20 billion Sri Lankan rupees. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake have discussed accelerating the project’s rollout to enhance government service delivery. Additionally, India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is being extended to Sri Lanka to facilitate secure digital transactions.
Sri Lanka has already spent more than five billion rupees on this project.
Deputy Minister of Digital Economy, Eranga Weeraratne, stated that the NPP government amended the agreement with India for the digital ID project to ensure full local control. The project is being developed with the support of MOSIP (Modular Open-Source Identification Platform), an Indian non-profit platform provider that has been engaged with Sri Lanka since 2020. Weeraratne emphasized that while Indian partners are assisting with project development and software customization, the amended agreement ensures that Sri Lankan professionals will have 100% control over the system, including login, database management, and software updates. The changes were made to safeguard data sovereignty and strengthen national control over the digital ID platform.
However, concerns have been raised about potential privacy risks, with the Sri Lankan government assuring that no foreign entity, including India, will have access to citizens’ personal data.
(Sources: Biometric Update, Business Standard, Sunday Times)
