Voters' personal data are "fully protected" and there is "no risk of it being hacked" or accessed by unauthorised users, IT security specialist and Board member of the Independent High Authority for Elections (French:ISIE) Belgacem Ayachi told TAP on Friday.

His remarks follow a statement published by the "I Watch" organisation, which said that "the ISIE asked the directors and members of the polling stations to transmit the national identity card numbers of each voter immediately after voting, using USSD technology, a mobile phone application".

The "194 USSD" service, on which the ISIE worked with Tunisie Télécom, is a service provided exclusively to ISIE registration staff at polling stations, Belgacem explained, adding that "the operator itself did not have access to the voter database".

He also pointed out that the National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data (INPDP) had audited and monitored the entire process with the ISIE in order to protect voters' personal data and ensure the security of all procedures related to these data.

The ISIE's own IT system is regularly audited by an IT security expert, he pointed out.

For his part, ISIE Executive Director Ridha Missaoui said that the "194 USSD" only serves as a "meter" to calculate the turnout on election day. "This service is well secured," he said, adding that "all countries in the world use modern technologies to collect data during elections".

"I Watch" on Thursday criticised the collection of voters' personal data without their knowledge, pointing the finger at what it called the "lack of necessary guarantees" and what could result from the ISIE's collection of data on those who voted and those who did not. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse – English