Hi Ish,
The following is a reply to a question in the legislative assembly:
"However, I am advised that, according to experts from Singapore Cooperation
Enterprise, the minutiae are irreversible. Therefore, they cannot be
converted back into fingerprints."
If sensitive personal data is not stored in the Central Population
Database, it lessens the risk of an incident such as the one at
https://www.opm.gov/news/releases/2015/09/cyber-statement-923/ where
approximately 5.6 million fingerprints of individuals were stolen.
There seems to be some confusion about whether the minutiae is
personal data. I would list it as such. The question of whether the
minutiae can be converted back is not that relevant as there are
likely easier ways to get access to a person's fingerprint. A
significant issue might be the following (from a decision of the Data
Protection Commissioner):
"The irreversibility of the process can reduce the possibility of the
individual of exercising their rights or to reverse decisions adopted
based on a false identification.
The reliance on the accuracy of fingerprinting can make possible mistakes
harder to rectify, leading to far reaching consequences for individuals."
During an informal discussion a person commented that a database of
fingerprints would be useful to reduce crime. I argued that it is
unlikely that thieves would leave their fingerprints on a crime scene nowadays.
Regards,
S. Moonesamy
Received on Wed Sep 30 2015 - 19:56:38 PST