South Africa has proposedcollecting biometric information from people when they purchase SIM cards to thwart SIM swap attacks.
According to the FBI, these fraudulent transactions totaledover $68 million in 2021.
However, the privacy implications of South Africa’s proposal don’t sit well with experts.
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“But I’m not convinced [collecting biometric information] is the right answer.”
She believes that biometrics alone doesn’t help solve the issue in the first place.
In fact, according to Benoit-Kurtz, there’s a vibrant black market for obtaining duplicates of active SIMs.
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She also suggests using a SIM PINa multi-digit code you enter every time your phone restarts.
