IP: the Brits on "Smart Cards": BBC: Technology trips smart card plans

[Dave Farber <dave@farber.net>]

From: "Bob Rosenberg" <bob@bobrosenberg.phoenix.az.us>
Date: Thu, 04 Jul 2002 21:23:00 -0700
To: dave@farber.net
Subject: the Brits on "Smart Cards":  BBC:  Technology trips smart card
plans

Look what's happening in Jolly Old...It looks like deja vu all over again.

Bob

******

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_2093000/2093341.stm


    Thursday, 4 July, 2002, 14:40 GMT 15:40 UK
Technology trips smart card plans
 
The ID cards would carry a wealth of data

It could take years to develop the kind of smart ID cards the UK Government
is keen to introduce and they are likely to compound the problems of illegal
immigration, fraud and identity theft, say experts.

Home Secretary David Blunkett has indicated he favours introducing such
cards, called entitlement cards, and has launched a six-month consultation.

Civil liberties groups have vehemently opposed the idea, stating that it
will turn citizens into suspects.

The government says that bringing existing identification such as driving
licences and passports together, the system could be made efficient.

Card integrity 

Human rights group Privacy International has warned that any ID card will be
exploited by criminal groups with an increasing degree of technical
know-how. 

What is needed is a card which doesn't necessarily identify you but has
sufficient authentication to make the process very efficient

Tim Conway, Intellect "The technology gap between governments and organised
crime has now narrowed to such an extent that even the most highly secure
cards are available as blanks, weeks after their introduction," said Privacy
International's Director Simon Davies.

"Whenever governments attempt to introduce an ID card it is always based on
the aim of eliminating false identity.

"The higher the stated integrity of a card, the greater is its value to
criminals and illegal immigrants," he said.

Return to basics 

It could be years before smart ID cards came to fruition said one expert,
who advised the government on the ID scheme.

Tim Conway, Industry Affairs Director at trade body Intellect, told
Computing magazine that even the most basic of cards would take three years
to develop. 

The government favours computerised cards that could store a photograph,
fingerprints and personal information including name and address.

It is estimated that basic plastic cards would cost £1.3bn, with the bill
for cards able to hold data like fingerprints and iris patterns put at
£3.1bn. 

Mr Conway believes resources would be better spent on developing a card
which would benefit citizens by making it easier to access government
services. 

The first step should be to bring together all the different identifications
used by citizens, such as National Insurance and NHS numbers he said.

"What is needed is a card which doesn't necessarily identify you but has
sufficient authentication to make the process very efficient," he told
Computing. 

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