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A comment on Kenya Government mandates DNA-linked national ID, without data protection law. Parent comment

Re:Kenya Government mandates DNA-linked national ID, without... by iguy on Saturday February 09, 2019 @09:19AM (#19122377)
Is "identity theft" a thing in Kenya? I mean the US meaning is tied up with easy credit, someone else borrows money in your name, and the lender asks few questions until too late for them. I had the impression that places like Kenya there was very little such consumer credit available.

Edit: I guess the other meaning is things like getting a duplicate SIM card to defeat 2FA. I'd imagine that's a problem. Can anyone comment whether such information would make this easier?

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Re:Kenya Government mandates DNA-linked national ID, without... by coob on Saturday February 09, 2019 @10:09AM (#19122631)
> Is "identity theft" a thing in Kenya?

Yes:

https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2001287820/phone-use...

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Re:Kenya Government mandates DNA-linked national ID, without... by iguy on Saturday February 09, 2019 @01:11PM (#19123684)
OK, so breaking 2FA & emptying your account, rather than taking a loan.

Would the world with this system (and its inevitable leaks) be worse? What I mean is that replacing a system where e.g. knowing someone's mother's maiden name is enough to get you a SIM card, to one where you have to show up and have the same earlobes... even if, err, the earlobes leak, might be better?

Or does getting a SIM card involve an inside man, in which case maybe nothing changes?

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Re:Kenya Government mandates DNA-linked national ID, without... by wycliffb on Saturday February 09, 2019 @12:36PM (#19123502)
Yes. An example is telco market leader Safaricom.co.ke that rolled out 'voice as password'. Keep in mind most Kenyan transactions these days are in mobile money.
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