State Minister for Education, Youth and Information Floyd Green (right) responds to a question at a town hall meeting on the National Identification System at Emancipation Park in New Kingston on Tuesday while (from left) Project Director for NIDS Warren Vernon; chief executive officer, e-Gov Jamaica Ltd, Maurice Barnes; and acting chief technical director in the Office of the Prime Minister, Jacqueline Lynch Stewart look on. (Photo: JIS)

THE civil and identification database being established under the National Identification System (NIDS) is now 90 per cent complete.

This was disclosed by project director for NIDS Warren Vernon, who noted that work is advanced “in terms of defining all of the features and the requirements in order to deliver the system”.

He was speaking at a town hall meeting at Emancipation Park in New Kingston on Tuesday.

NIDS, which is scheduled for implementation in 2019, will provide a comprehensive and secure structure to enable the capture and storage of identity information for all Jamaicans.

Under the system, each citizen will be provided with a randomised nine-digit National Identification Number, which they will have for life.

Vernon said the NIDS team is also in the process of developing the cybersecurity strategy to deal with all of the threats and risks related to the system.

“We are also in the process of developing a plan to generate awareness, because how we use technology now, it’s very clear that there are so many persons that are not aware of the various threats and risks that are out there,” he noted.

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/nids-database-90-per-cent-complete_119229