Lawmakers raise security doubts on using RFID technology in new Hong Kong smart ID cards
'Sloppily drafted' government paper fails to convince lawmakers data will be kept safe
Government plans to introduce more secure Hong Kong smart identity cards from 2018 have received a hostile reception.
Lawmakers on the Legislative Council panel questioned the security of the ID cards using radio-frequency identification (RFID), which can allow people - or hackers - to retrieve personal data and information from a distance.
Legal-sector lawmaker and Civic Party member Dennis Kwok sought reassurances that there could be no "misuse of the technology" and whether anyone with a suitable device could "easily" access personal data on the card.
Existing ID cards have just one layer of security, but it is expected the new design will have two-step security measures - with encryption on top of that.
John Lee Ka-chiu, the undersecretary for security, said: "This would not happen. We have different safeguards in our software including an encryption key."
He added the ID card chip will be made as small as possible and only readable from devices up to 2cm away.