Expert: Biometric Verification for SIM Cards Protects Public Identity
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Cybersecurity expert Alfons Tanujaya believes that the momentum for implementing biometric verification for new prepaid SIM card registrations should be viewed by the public as a form of identity protection amidst the surge in personal data misuse.
The Vice Chairman of Cyber Security at APTIKNAS (National Association of Information and Communication Technology Entrepreneurs) stated that the application of this system is an important refreshment of the verification system, which previously relied on National Identification Numbers (NIK) that are frequently subject to leaks.
“The public must see this policy as a momentum to secure their own digital identities,” Alfons told ANTARA on Friday.
The implementation of biometric verification for prepaid SIM card registration will come into effect in Indonesia starting 1 July 2026.
To support the smooth running of this programme, the public can take an active role by updating their photo data at their respective Regional Population and Civil Registration Offices (Dukcapil), especially if their photos were taken around 2011-2012 during the initial implementation of the electronic ID (KTP-el) policy.
Alfons noted that with updated photos, the public should be able to obtain clearer and higher-quality biometric data, ensuring that the time spent undergoing biometric verification is minimised.
“The biggest challenge lies in our old KTP-el photos, most of which were taken during mass recordings in 2011–2012. Photos that are 15 years old are vulnerable to verification failure due to physical aging effects, such as changes in weight or wrinkles, compounded by the low resolution of older cameras,” he said.
This data update should be cost-free and should provide more accurate data clarity.
By ensuring that front-facing cameras are clean and functioning properly, the data verification process via telecommunications provider applications should be easily completed.
Finally, to support efforts to minimise the misuse of personal identities by cybercriminals, Alfons suggested that the public perform self-checks using their NIK, which is available across all telecommunications provider applications.
Under the new regulations, ownership is limited to a maximum of three numbers per operator for a single NIK. Citizens must ensure that no illegal foreign numbers are registered using their identity.
According to data from the Ministry of Communication and Digital, during the trial period from January to April 2026 alongside telecommunications providers such as Telkomsel, Indosat, and XLSMART, the system successfully handled an average of 300,000 biometric registrations per day.
Through collaboration between government infrastructure readiness and public compliance in updating data, this new regulation is expected to reduce the scale of losses caused by cybercrime in Indonesia, which, according to the Indonesia Anti Scam Centre (IASC), has surpassed Rp 9.5 trillion.