Llave MX: Risk or digital breakthrough?

Cyberpeace Tech
Jun 26
3 min read

Mexico is at a crucial stage of its digital evolution with the implementation of the Llave MX, a system that will centralize government procedures through a biometric CURP.

This initiative, recently approved by the Senate as part of the National Law to Eliminate Bureaucratic Procedures, promises to streamline administrative processes and reduce the burden of face-to-face procedures for citizens.

However, cybersecurity experts have expressed serious concerns about the protection of personal data and the risks associated with the mandatory use of this tool.

What is Llave MX?

Llave MX will be the digital platform that will bring together, in a single access, all federal, state and municipal government services and procedures. To authenticate the identity of users, this platform will be linked to the CURP, which will now incorporate biometric elements such as fingerprints, facial recognition, iris scanning and a complete history of procedures.

This digital version of the CURP will be officially recognized as the national identity document.

That is to say, both public agencies and private companies will be obliged to accept it as a means of official identification.

Risks in data centralization

Despite the advantages that this digital transformation promises (such as greater efficiency, time savings and less bureaucracy), the concentration of such sensitive data in a single system represents a potential threat to the digital security of citizens.

Specialists warn that a system such as Llave MX, being mandatory and containing highly confidential information, becomes a very attractive target for criminal groups in cyberspace. Recent cases have shown that even high-level governmental institutions have been breached.

A clear example was the attack on the Ministry of National Defense in 2022 and the leak of information of millions of users in the Llave CDMX platform in 2024.

Lack of robust legislation on cybersecurity

Mexico still lacks a comprehensive cybersecurity law that establishes clear rules for data protection in digital systems. This contrasts with other countries such as the members of the European Union, which apply the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), or the United States, with its CISA law, which provide greater legal shielding against digital threats.

The absence of this regulation in Mexico complicates the defense against cyber-attacks, especially those coming from abroad that can compromise millions of personal records.

Enough resources to protect digital identity?

Another major challenge of the Llave MX lies in the disparity between public investment in digital technologies and the growth of citizen use of these platforms. Between 2019 and 2023, the budget allocated to information technologies grew by just 3% annually, while digital procedures increased by more than 50%.

This gap leaves institutions with limited capabilities to protect the systems and data they will now manage.

In addition, there is a risk that the most vulnerable sectors of the population, such as the elderly or people without internet access, will face digital exclusion, adding a problem of equity to that of security.

What can Mexico learn from the global context?

For an initiative such as Llave MX to be successful and secure, it is essential that Mexico develops solid cybersecurity legislation and allocates sufficient budget to the protection of digital systems. Countries such as Spain and Brazil have shown that digital identity processes can be implemented more securely when accompanied by strict regulatory frameworks and public policies focused on data protection.

Mexico is taking an important step towards modernizing its government, but this progress should not happen without a clear strategy to safeguard the privacy and security of its citizens.

At Cyberpeace, we recognize the value of initiatives such as Llave MX to modernize the relationship between government and citizens, but we also consider it essential that these advances are accompanied by solid cybersecurity mechanisms.

Centralizing biometric and personal data in a single platform without a comprehensive national law to protect such information represents a high risk in a country that has been a constant target of cyberattacks.

From our experience, we warn that digital transformation without a clear protection strategy may result in greater vulnerabilities, especially if sufficient resources are not allocated to strengthen the State's technological infrastructure. It is urgent to address this issue with responsibility, transparency and expert participation, so that the digital trust of citizens is not compromised.

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