A comparative study of security features of national identity cards in five countries: India, Brazil, South Africa, Malaysia, and the Philippines = Badania porównawcze zabezpieczeń w dokumentach osobistych używanych w pięciu krajach: Indiach, Brazylii, Południowej Afryce, Malezji i Filipinach

Abstract

This article discusses the security features of national identity cards of different countries in order to compare and help understand the application and uniqueness of these features. national identity cards are security documents provided with embedded security features to prevent their counterfeiting and misuse. These features include holograms, microprinting, anti-photocopying properties, QR codes, and ghost images. A security document is a medium necessary to prove a person’s identity as an unique individual in the civil and legal sense. This article analyzes a comparative study of national identity cards used in five countries: India, Brazil, South Africa, Malaysia, and the Philippines. The study was based on a collective set of 22 security features, such as ghost images, QR codes, tactile engravings, microprocessor chips, guilloches, holograms, and anti-photocopying features. The results showed that the lowest number of security features appears in the Brazilian identity card (8), followed in increasing order by India (10), Malaysia (12), the Philippines (12), and South Africa (14). Moreover, the article discusses the prevalence of security features, along with the need for and the methods to implement their improvement. The study aims to identify a security feature or a combination of features that would make the security document in question safer. This could assist countries around the world in curbing the prevalence of fraud and identity theft by improving and strengthening their identification systems.