Friday, 23 November 2007
ID cards: money talks
My prediction on Wednesday that defenders of ID cards would quickly twist this child benefit data debacle to their advantage has been borne out. My expectation that it would be Polly's Friday column, though, has been stymied by her non-appearance in today's Guardian - but, via Dizzy, I see that David Blunkett has stepped up to the plate admirably with a letter in today's Times.
The database is simply about identity — not about the plethora of information that already rests elsewhere. It will actually make it easier to protect your identity, including in circumstances such as these where information has gone missing... such a system will be better then any other, precisely because it will be robust, efficient and verifiable.
I'm not going to bother fisking the letter because Dizzy does a good job of it himself; it's the usual mishmash of evasions and airy assertions and doesn't stand up to serious scrutiny. No, I wish merely to note one point. Blunkett is quick to reassure us that he's not just talking out of his arse on ID because he is, among other things,
the honorary chair of the Information Systems Security Association Advisory Group
which we learn from its website is "a not-for-profit, international organization of information security professionals and practitioners. It provides educational forums, publications and peer interaction opportunities that enhance the knowledge, skill and professional growth of its members."
Perhaps more relevant, but omitted from Blunkett's letter, is the fact that he is also the Chair of the International Advisory Committee to Entrust Inc., a "company providing internet security systems", for which he is, according to the Register of Members' Interests, paid between £25,000 and £30,000 per annum. From the Entrust website:
Government organizations looking to provide citizen identification and authentication to government services face a number of challenges related to accessibility, usability, security and privacy. Entrust has worked with numerous government organizations across the world to extend secure government services to citizens while keeping private information secure, thereby providing greater and more convenient access and increased trust for the citizen while reducing costs and increasing efficiency for the government.
Entrust run several ID card schemes around the world, including that of Spain. I wonder if they would be interested in running the Government's ID card scheme? Well - would you credit it? - according to a report in the Observer when Blunkett took up his post in March, they are:
Entrust has formally registered an interest in the British ID cards project, via a scheme for potential future suppliers to notify themselves to the Home Office's Identity and Passport Service, and has attended two seminars organised for the ID cards programme.
Blunkett was bound by a moratorium clause that prevented him from lobbying British ministers or officials for two years after his resignation from government.
That ban came to an end this month. Looks like Entrust are beginning to see a return on their money.
Labels: Civil liberties, Gravy train, Nu Lab
Comments:
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The thee wise data security monkeys..
See no evil ... Blunkett
Speak no evil .. ??
Hear no evil .. ??
Fill in the spaces
See no evil ... Blunkett
Speak no evil .. ??
Hear no evil .. ??
Fill in the spaces
Well researched Mr E.
I have a feeling that neither the Times (probably) nor the BBC (certainly) will reveal this information.
I have a feeling that neither the Times (probably) nor the BBC (certainly) will reveal this information.
"defenders of ID cards would quickly twist this child benefit data debacle to their advantage has been borne out. "
That they would try to do so was inevitable. However I don't think they have taken into account the total shock and dissapointment the whole 'normal' population feels about this.
I reckon if they do introduce this thing you will see /mass/ civil disobedience on a scale never seen before in this country. It will make the poll tax riots look like the fucking teddy bears picnic.
I'm signed up for NO2ID, and I suggest everyone else does too.
It's now plain to the whole population, excepting those sock puppets and astroturfers paid directly by Labour, that this bunch of mendacious cunts could literally not run a fucking whelk stall.
Zorro
That they would try to do so was inevitable. However I don't think they have taken into account the total shock and dissapointment the whole 'normal' population feels about this.
I reckon if they do introduce this thing you will see /mass/ civil disobedience on a scale never seen before in this country. It will make the poll tax riots look like the fucking teddy bears picnic.
I'm signed up for NO2ID, and I suggest everyone else does too.
It's now plain to the whole population, excepting those sock puppets and astroturfers paid directly by Labour, that this bunch of mendacious cunts could literally not run a fucking whelk stall.
Zorro
"...it will be robust, efficient and verifiable."
Yes. Instead of shuffling our most intimate details around the country on unencrypted CDs, the ID soviet will use USB keys with little locks on them. All nice and safe.
Zorro, you may be right. There was never any doubt they'd try an spin this in their favour, but I get the sense that people aren't having it. Let's hope so.
Yes. Instead of shuffling our most intimate details around the country on unencrypted CDs, the ID soviet will use USB keys with little locks on them. All nice and safe.
Zorro, you may be right. There was never any doubt they'd try an spin this in their favour, but I get the sense that people aren't having it. Let's hope so.
Hahahahah
No officer really this is MY iris. Yes I was born with it. Well I don't fucking know how it got on to that person's ID card. Yes this really IS mine. How do I prove it? Well, errr
No officer really this is MY iris. Yes I was born with it. Well I don't fucking know how it got on to that person's ID card. Yes this really IS mine. How do I prove it? Well, errr
I posted a response to this chez Dizzy, so I will not repeat it here. Go look. (Sorry can't post a direct link).
Nothing is safe. Be warned.
Nothing is safe. Be warned.
Mythbuster: I read your comment at Dizzy's. You're absolutely correct. Biometrics are certainly more secure than passwords - in that they can't be guessed and it's slightly harder to present a fake biometric to a scanner than to type in a stolen password - but that's all they are: an alternative to passwords or PINs. They aren't some kind of magic fairy dust that makes all data perfectly secure for all time. Lose the data against which your body parts are measured, and whatever they're protecting becomes vulnerable to the unscrupulous just as if they'd stolen any other kind of password.
The fact is that a PC blanket has largely protected Blunkett. His hypocrisy has always been of the first order and unlikely to change.
It just defies belief. How can politicians with those kind of vested interests be allowed to lobby the government? I do not want us going down the same road as the Americans, thank you very much.
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