[privacy] U.S. Senators Propose Repeal of National ID

[Dr. Neal Krawetz]

On Sat Dec 16 11:16:06 2006, David Lodge wrote:
> 
> On Fri, 15 Dec 2006 02:30:40 -0000, Dude Van Winkle  
> <DudeVanWinkle at gmail.com> wrote:
> > I dont understand the big deal about a national id card. We already have
> > drivers licenses and social security cards, Military IDs, College/School
> > ID's, Work Badges, and Passports, so whats the big deal about adding a
> > standard, especially if we can do away with the need for even two of the
> > others (which I admit will probably not happen of course, buts its nice
> > to dream eh?)
> 
> The major problem is that ID gets abused - and rather than ask for  
> equivalent ID for a purpose, a generic global ID is requested, meaning  
> closer monitoring by people who shouldn't have any right to monitor an  
> individual (e.g. banks, supermarkets).
[snip]

Dave,

Excellent rant, I fully agree, and I could not have said it any better.

I find it interesting the number of places that want to see ID, but have
no idea what they are looking for or looking at.  Some examples:

  - When I first moved to Colorado, I opened a bank account.
    They needed to see my Illinois driver's license.
    The problems here:
    (1) The banker had never seen an Illinois driver's license before, and
	would never be able to tell if it was real or fake.  (I had to
	point out the driver's license number on it since he didn't know
	where to look.)
    (2) They did not ask me to remove it from my wallet.
	You can buy fake IDs for any state.  The front looks correct, but
	the back says it is a fake ID for entertainment purposes only.
	Even if the banker knew what a real Illinois driver's license
	looked like, they never checked the back so it might have been
	fake.
    The basic mentality seems to be:
	Picture looks like me + name is right = must be real.  (QED)

  - My credit card says "not valid without photo ID".
    I am rarely asked to provide ID.
    One time, the gal at Home Depot asked me.  I pulled out a 1"x1" baby
    picture of my nephew.  She smiled and continued the transaction.
    It was an identifying photo, just not of me.

  - When getting my passport, I needed to provide proof of citizenship.
    I provided my real birth certificate.  The problem is, nothing on that
    birth certificate looks like me.  There is no photo, the name and
    personal info was valid, but nothing says it is me (no fingerprint,
    etc.).  They took my passport picture and the passport arrived a
    few weeks later.  It's a real passport, but no proof that the original
    information really was me beyond ownership of the real birth
    certificate.  (And since the birth certificate is more than 30 years
    old, I really think I could have made a fake one on my printer.)

  - Speaking of making fake IDs...
    When my Dad first got a photo printer, he had lots of fun.  He printed
    up "employer ID cards" for my company (Hacker Factor) and his company.
    Post-9/11, these ID cards were accepted at everywhere from conferences
    and hotels to airports.  They are official looking photo-IDs with real
    signatures.  (The only place that had a problem was Frontier Airlines
    -- and that was because the cards were laminated.)  No problem -- I
    have a driver's license (that may be removed from the wallet, but
    nobody every flips it over to see if it is real).
    NOTE: There is no crime (to my knowledge) of showing a company ID card
    at an airport.  If they decline that ID, I have other -- government
    issued -- IDs that I can provide.

  - A friend had her wallet stolen a few months back.
    She lost her driver's license, credit cards, etc.
    It turns out, in order to get a driver's license (or state ID card) in
    Colorado, you need to provide two forms of government ID.  She has
    neither (since her license was stolen).  And other forms of government
    ID cannot be acquired without a driver's license or state ID card.
    She just had a judge rule that she is who she is so she can try to get
    a driver's license.
    My friend is not the only person with problems getting a Colorado
    driver's license.  Many other cases have been documented:
    http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5210252,00.html
    http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5218587,00.html
    (I like the part about a valid Texas driver's license not being good
    enough for Colorado.)

The problems with the lack of understanding around IDs is worse for foreign
visitors.  A coworker needed to update his Visa so he could go on a
business trip to Asia.  Get this: he needed to go from Colorado to
Washington (state) to get a Visa for Canada.  He then went to Canada so he
could go to the American consolate to get an updated US Visa.  With his
updated US Visa, he then went to the Asian consolate in Denver for the
travel Visa.

My reply: WTF!
Why does he need to leave the USA in order to update his USA Visa?
What validation information exists for USA Visas outside of the USA that
does not exist inside the USA?

Right now, I consider all forms of ID (in the United States) to be like
those Jokers in a deck of cards; they seem valuable, but nobody really
knows how to use them.
  http://www.gamesandprint.co.uk/Cards/Jumbo/joker.jpg

					-Neal
--
Neal Krawetz, Ph.D.
Hacker Factor Solutions
http://www.hackerfactor.com/
Author of "Introduction to Network Security" (Charles River Media, 2006)
and "Hacking Ubuntu" (Wiley, 2007)