Changes To Uk Id Cards (again...)

[rvalkass 5]

Source: http://www.techweekeurope.co.uk/

It seems there have been a few changes to the already diabolical plans for the ID card system in the UK. The Home Office have now decided that the cards will not be checked against the National Identity Register, but will just need to be shown as proof of identity, except in places "requiring the highest standard of identity assurance". This makes me wonder why they actually need all our information stored on a massive database in the first place then? If it isn't actually going to be checked, why do the government need my iris scans and fingerprints stored on a database, especially given the UK government's infamy for losing every piece of personal data they possibly could. If they are just going to be used to verify name and photo, then what is wrong with my driver's licence, or a paper passport?

It would also completely disregard the government's claims that the system would be unbreakable and no clone cards could ever be made. If only the visual appearance of the card is being checked then they are even easier for criminals to make than credit cards! Assuming the system is 100% secure, when it clearly isn't, is surely worse than not having the cards at all?

A spokesman said that the ID cards would mainly be used to verify age for things like buying alcohol, DVDs and gambling. But what is wrong with a driver's licence, or the host of other ID card schemes available to young people at much lower cost, and without an Orwellian master database of all our details?

Documents released by Wikileaks suggest that the card would become effectively compulsory, making it virtually impossible to live your day to day life without one.

I am opposed to the ID card scheme, and the National Identity Register, but this has simply made an already bad situation infinitely worse. Instead of a quite secure system, we now have a system that is assumed to be 100% secure, but is in fact not secure at all. That is much more of a security risk than not using an ID card system at all.

[Mordent 0]

The way I see it, the government want us to have a form of ID that is purely for that purpose: identifying us. Passports are used internationally, and allow us to travel to other countries. Drivers' licences show that we are legally allowed to drive on public roads etc.

 

While I'm by no means strongly for the idea of there being ID cards that are compulsory for all UK citizens, I'm not all that against it either. The main concern is, naturally, the ability of people to fraudulently exploit the system by duplicating cards (either in appearance or the whole card) and altering it to their means. What is the difference between that and, say, fraudulent passports? Passports allow people access to other countries, and acts as an international form of identification. By limiting the form of ID used so that, for instance, to prove your age you must use one of these new ID cards, it cuts down on the number of other possible uses for one piece of forged ID.

 

As per usual, with any new system it will clearly take a lot of time for it to be trusted. If you knew that about half of the country were using the cards, for instance, but didn't have one yourself to compare it to and therefore know what it's supposed to look like, what use is it? Sure, you realise that it could be a valid piece of ID, and that you're supposed to accept it, but how do you know it's the "real deal"?

 

The only way I can see of getting it to be even vaguely effective is to insist that every UK citizen has one and that they are issued at the same time (or perhaps only valid from the same time) and so we're all therefore aware of what they are. The logistics of that, though, are ridiculous.

 

As for the government's record at...well, losing our records, suffice to say the sheer amount of data available in a national database would be so large as to be obscene. If someone managed to get hold of that data then who knows how much control and power they might have...

[rvalkass 5]

The way I see it, the government want us to have a form of ID that is purely for that purpose: identifying us. Passports are used internationally, and allow us to travel to other countries. Drivers' licences show that we are legally allowed to drive on public roads etc.

I see it as duplication though. My passport is both an internationally and nationally recognised form of ID. My driver's license is nationally recognised, and is also recognised in all the EU member countries. Why do I need another way to prove who I am? Also, why do they need all this extra information? So far, my passport and driver's licence have had enough evidence to prove who I am - why the sudden need for iris scans and fingerprints?

 

While I'm by no means strongly for the idea of there being ID cards that are compulsory for all UK citizens, I'm not all that against it either. The main concern is, naturally, the ability of people to fraudulently exploit the system by duplicating cards (either in appearance or the whole card) and altering it to their means. What is the difference between that and, say, fraudulent passports? Passports allow people access to other countries, and acts as an international form of identification. By limiting the form of ID used so that, for instance, to prove your age you must use one of these new ID cards, it cuts down on the number of other possible uses for one piece of forged ID.

But the ID card will be used for a whole load of things, including the possibility to be used as a standalone passport. If the ID card is used as a universal ID card then the exact opposite will happen - it will increase the possible uses from one form of forged ID.

 

As for the government's record at...well, losing our records, suffice to say the sheer amount of data available in a national database would be so large as to be obscene. If someone managed to get hold of that data then who knows how much control and power they might have...

And all that data will be available to private companies too! I certainly don't trust the government with my data, and I trust them even less to choose the companies that have access to it, and those companies I trust even less than that