Estonia's digital identity system has been beset by blunders and security issues that allow hackers to steal data and help scammers take money, we can reveal.
The digital ID system used by 1.4million people in the Baltic state country is said to be the blueprint for Keir Starmer's so-called Brit Card.
Digital ID cards showing a resident's picture, name, unique number and date of birth, and including a microchip storing more personal information, have been used in the former Soviet republic for more than 20 years.
Estonians can hold their cards in e-wallets on mobile phones and use them to vote, check on bank accounts, e-sign contracts and invoices, file tax returns, claim benefits, book medical appointments, access health records, shop online, and even collect supermarket loyalty points.
But the much-praised scheme in Estonia has suffered security lapses that have allowed fraudsters to bypass encryption systems to con victims out of their savings and leak the names and photographs of citizens.
