Filenews 27 May 2024 - by Fanis Makrides
From the first 10 days of this year, the countdown has begun for the satisfaction of a long-standing request of the prosecuting authorities and in particular the Cyprus Police and the Cyprus Intelligence Service.
The reason for the legislation that provides for identification of holders and/or users of SIM and eSIM subscriber ID cards. These are the prepaid mobile telephony cards that have been available on the market for years (lately they are also sold digitally), without the holder having to give his details.
As "F" is aware, officials of the Cyprus Police and the intelligence service of the Republic have already elaborated the basic provisions of the new legislation, which was published in the official gazette of the Republic on 10/5 and is therefore considered to be in force. Of course, for the full implementation of the Law, the period set by a transitional provision and which provides a period of 18 months for companies to fully identify the holders of such cards must expire.
Internal memo
Indicative of the new, positive, data created is an internal note of the Police Force, which last week was sent by a senior official to the police directors of the Districts and the commanders of services and departments of the Police Force.
Although, as we are informed, the text of this document has the style that characterizes official notes, we are pleased that a mechanism is being put in place to make it possible to identify holders and users of electronic or digital cards, for reasons of security of the Republic and for the investigation of serious criminal offences.
The two articles
Then, the two articles of the legislation that differentiate the data and arm the prosecuting authorities in the fight against criminal elements, but also in the effort to safeguard the security of the Republic of Cyprus, are recorded.
More specifically:
- The subsection of Article 6 of the Law, which provides the possibility for law enforcement authorities to access the holder's identity data kept by the provider, is noted. This provision is linked to Article 4 of the Telecommunications Data Retention for the Purpose of Investigating Serious Crimes, on the basis of which a data access order may be issued.
- Reference is also made to Article 7 of the legislation. According to this, the Police and the BPH, in the context of investigating serious criminal offences or for reasons of security of the Republic, respectively, may request in writing mobile service providers to immediately deactivate all service connections and equipment of a prepaid mobile telephony holder. By law, these companies are now obliged to respond.
The 18 months
The issue that arises in relation to the full force of the legislation has to do with the arrangements to be made by providers, i.e. companies that sell – mainly through kiosks – prepaid airtime mobile phone cards. Companies have a one-and-a-half-year transition period to identify SIM card holders. This parameter with this transitional provision is also highlighted in the Police note. That is, that the provider within 18 months (10/11/2025) from the date of entry into force of the Law (10/5/2024), is obliged to inform by any means the holders of a SIM subscriber ID card and an eSIM of prepaid mobile telephony services, in order to declare the holder's identity data and mobile phone number.
International cards
Another issue, however, concerns digital SIM cards purchased from abroad. It is indicative that we found an advertisement on the internet, according to which interested parties can obtain such cards online, with telephone numbers abroad, without asking for personal information from the buyer. The latter has -at the same time- the ability to change telephone numbers and consequently not be identified. It should be noted that at the beginning of 2022, the Police, in the context of a request to detain persons for the murder of a citizen a few months ago, revealed before a Court that one of the suspects was allegedly using a phone from the Central Prison with a foreign phone number.
Cyprus SIM terrorists
Of course, even if criminal elements find ways to obtain telephone numbers from other countries, the fact that numbers from points of sale in Cyprus, such as kiosks, are not accessible to them, is characterized as very positive.
Another aspect of the issue should be added here. During the discussion of the issue in Parliament, an important event emerged. There have been cases of persons involved in planning terrorism cases and it has been found by examinations of foreign services that these individuals were using prepaid airtime cards that they had previously obtained from our island.
Prehistory
The relevant bill was forwarded to Parliament by Angelos Votsis and George Prokopiou in 2009. MP Marinos Mousiouttas in 2021 reinstated his colleagues' proposal, while openly expressing support from other officials. It is indicative that in the winter of 2021, the Attorney General, George Savvides, speaking to the parliamentary committee on Finance on the budget of the Legal Service, had commented: "It is a very important tool for the Police, to know who is the one who makes the threats, who is the one who swears, who is the one who uses these cards for illegal purposes. Unfortunately, we have had strong objections from various companies. But I believe that you must help us and you must put the interests of combating organized crime above all, and I would ask you to pass on the request to the committee responsible. It's an important tool to be able to move forward."
