New ID cards to be rolled out this week

The long-awaited new identity cards are set to be rolled out from Wednesday, but initially only those needing an urgent renewal and those obtaining their identification document for the first time will be eligible. The mass rollout to renew some 320,000 cards will be carried out in the near future, as the government wanted to take a gradual approach, according to Godwin Grima, head of the task force in charge of this project. However, further delay is no longer possible as Malta would risk losing €7.7 million from the EU, which funded this project under the digital agenda initiative for the period between 2007 and 2013. “Rather than funding the new cards, the EU is financing the accessibility of electronic services as the new ID card will give access to a host of e-government and other online services,” Dr Grima said. From a strictly security point of view, the new cards will have two digital certificates embedded on an electronic chip to guarantee its authenticity as well as the holder’s signature. As a result, if it goes missing nobody else would be able to use it unless they get hold of the personal identification number and password, just like a debit card. Those who...