[ql06] Re: PUBLIC: Identity Cards -- the Moron Biz Association (MBA)speaks
- From: Sheldon Erentzen <sheldon.erentzen@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ql06@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 09 Oct 2003 08:12:17 -0400
Hey Ken,
I was thinking maybe the "Consumer's Bar-Code Bliss" card and god knows
we love short forms these days so the "CB" card. Instead of finger
printing they could just barcode us on the neck.
Sheldon
"Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear."
Mark Twain
Ken Campbell -- LAW'06 wrote:
>This article is a textbook reason why constitutional democracy has so
>many breaks and checks and curbs on what business people can do with
>public policy.
>
>Many of them want to promote their agendas -- they have to, that's what
>the profit-bankruptcy motive is about. And, then, they get into that
>mindset and suddenly can find the most amazing reasons why the best
>public policies seem to coincidentally help their own businesses.
>
>But to come up with this... A "cheerful" idea!
>
>The SUPER DUPER HAPPY CITIZEN CARD! (TM)
>
>No, wait... take CITIZEN out of there... sounds too serious. Implies
>rights and obligations... no one wants to bring that stuff up.
>
>Just: SUPER DUPER HAPPY CARD! (TM)
>
>Mr. Immega says we should make the SUPER DUPER HAPPY CARD! (TM) so much
>fun, well, gosh golly... who DOESN'T want one?!
>
>I think we should go further:
>
> [ ] Why not give away some free Canada Wonderland
> passes on the card?
> [ ] Why not make a deal with Air Miles to give bonus
> miles every time you "swipe it"?
> [ ] Oh, and to keep the working poor interested... a
> free monthly transit pass (for first 3 months of
> use only, as clearly defined in a contract, some
> restrictions may apply in Toronto)
> [ ] Keep the non-working poor interested with a
> monthly bonus allowance of credits at the
> Salvation Army? (Call them Sally Cents!)
> [ ] And debit cards just add to that bulk in
> wallets and purses...
>
>Ken.
>
>P.S. That's my trademark. I own all rights to the phrase SUPER DUPER
>HAPPY CARD! (TM) in all media. In perpetuity. Any where in the Solar
>System.
>
>P.P.S. Immega actually even suggests putting a library card in there;
>librarians have a strong and proud tradition of defying nosy cops for
>over a century. The writer, probably unaware of that, is ready to just
>toss that away, too.
>
>--
>They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
>safety deserve neither safety nor liberty.
> -- Benjamin Franklin
>
>
>
>--- cut here ---
>
>
>Thumbs up to national ID cards
>
>People will happily let governments fingerprint them for a national ID
>system -- if the cards make themselves invaluable, says biometrics
>entrepreneur GUY IMMEGA
>
>By GUY IMMEGA
>Globe and Mail
>Thursday, Oct. 9, 2003
>
>
>Many people are worried by the prospect of a national ID card, and its
>possible misuse. The keys to making a national ID card a success are to
>make it voluntary and convenient. No one should be forced to get a card,
>and it should be so useful that everyone will want it and be willing to
>pay for it.
>
>A national ID card could function as a combined Canadian passport,
>CanPass card (for frequent cross-border travellers), SIN card,
>health-care card, driver's licence and even as a library card (assuming
>the co-operation of the provincial and municipal governments).
>
>All government services could be accessible with the card, and it should
>serve as high-quality ID for other transactions (such as for withdrawing
>money from your bank account). The card could reduce airport lineups and
>speed you through customs on returning to Canada. It could also be
>compatible with the proposed U.S.-VISIT program which is supposed to
>allow easy entry into the United States for Canadian permanent residents
>(landed immigrants), and possibly Canadian citizens -- if the exemption
>now being discussed between Ottawa and Washington does not materialize
>or is taken away in the future.
>
>Of course, not all these functions and features need to be working when
>the card is issued; they can be added to the protected memory on the
>card as they become available.
>
>Immigration Minister Denis Coderre is correct that the biometric
>information should be stored only in your card and not in a central
>database. It's less expensive, and more secure, to use only the card to
>store the identifying features of a fingerprint (not the actual print).
>Smart-card technology can provide tamper-proof memory for private
>information, including fingerprint features.
>
>The ID card should also have a photo (like your driver's licence) and
>contain hidden anti-forgery features (like printed currency). To use the
>card, simply slot it in a reader and present a live fingerprint scan to
>verify that indeed you are the proper person to possess the card. In
>many instances, automated reading of the card will be sufficient.
>However, for higher security applications, a human attendant can observe
>the fingerprint ID verification and also check the photo on the card.
>
>What about identity theft? A lost or stolen ID card will be very
>difficult to use, unless the thief can locate the owner and determine
>which fingerprint has been enrolled (one of 10) and somehow obtain a
>good copy of the print.
>
>It is true that fingerprint biometrics are not 100-per-cent secure, but
>they are vastly better than non-biometric ID. Security comes down to
>statistics, not absolute guarantees.
>
>Could criminals or terrorists "steal" fingers, and thereby acquire
>someone else's ID? This is not so easily done. Which finger -- all 10?
>The strategy would only work before rigor mortis sets in. Stealing a
>print from a sensor (which one?) will be difficult (and finger-sweep
>sensors do not leave a latent print). Once a print is obtained, the
>thief would have to construct an accurate rubber finger and
>surreptitiously use it to gain access.
>
>What about the usability of fingerprints? It is true that a small
>percentage of people have damaged prints or suffer mental or physical
>disabilities that make using fingerprints difficult. Learning to scan a
>fingerprint properly requires only a minute or two of practice. Scarred,
>worn or callused fingers may not work, but almost everyone has at least
>one good print that can be enrolled.
>
>In any case, alternatives to fingerprint ID cards will always be
>available, such as the ID used today. This is another reason why a
>national ID card should be voluntary.
>
>Can a national ID card be forged? Only with great difficulty. The forger
>must have access to all card-issuing technology, duplicating government
>facilities. For the government to issue a high-quality national ID card,
>many personal identity checks must be performed (as is now done for
>passports or re-issued birth certificates). It would be close to an
>insurmountable challenge for a forger to replicate the numerous
>credentials embedded in an ID card.
>
>I believe that a national ID card with biometric verification will make
>our lives easier and more secure. This is not an issue of Big Brother or
>civil liberties being nullified by a state police, but of increased
>security and convenience. But the card should be voluntary and capable
>of providing very significant benefits to the user. Administrative and
>user costs should be partly or completely borne by the applicant.
>
>Other countries, the U.S. army, and cities such as Hong Kong are
>adopting ID cards. Sooner or later Canada will do so too. Let's be sure
>we do a good job.
>
>---
>
>Guy Immega is president and CEO of Kinetic Sciences Inc., a
>Vancouver-based biometrics company which has developed miniature
>fingerprint sensors for door locks and cell phones.
>
>
>
>
>
>
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