Comments on: Roundtable with Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff http://www.formortals.com/roundtable-with-secretary-of-homeland-security-michael-chertoff/ Because technology isn't just for geeks Sun, 21 Mar 2010 15:12:44 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: George Ou http://www.formortals.com/roundtable-with-secretary-of-homeland-security-michael-chertoff/comment-page-1/#comment-1127 George Ou Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:44:32 +0000 http://www.formortals.com/?p=134#comment-1127 Smartcard IDs have public keys which don't compromise you. You give people your public key which has been bound to your identification and signed by the government as a trustworthy authority. You keep your own private key private along with all your other private information.<br><br>"I would rather see people of non-citizen status (regardless of how they got here, and whether or not they are supposed to be here) have ID that universally works, than to not have ID."<br><br>Or worse, those people have a fake ID with your name and/or social security number.<br><br>"Is it "Big Brother"? Maybe. But in this case, I would rather have "Big Brother" than "no supervision" like we have now, leading to the current mess."<br><br>Having one strong ID just makes a lot more sense than having a bunch of weak and worthless IDs where other people get to steal your identity and ruin your credit line or worse. I think it's gotten to the point where the E-Passport will soon become the only strong form of identification. Too bad I can't give people the public key from that thing and use it electronically.<br> Smartcard IDs have public keys which don’t compromise you. You give people your public key which has been bound to your identification and signed by the government as a trustworthy authority. You keep your own private key private along with all your other private information.

"I would rather see people of non-citizen status (regardless of how they got here, and whether or not they are supposed to be here) have ID that universally works, than to not have ID."

Or worse, those people have a fake ID with your name and/or social security number.

"Is it "Big Brother"? Maybe. But in this case, I would rather have "Big Brother" than "no supervision" like we have now, leading to the current mess."

Having one strong ID just makes a lot more sense than having a bunch of weak and worthless IDs where other people get to steal your identity and ruin your credit line or worse. I think it’s gotten to the point where the E-Passport will soon become the only strong form of identification. Too bad I can’t give people the public key from that thing and use it electronically.

]]> By: jmjames http://www.formortals.com/roundtable-with-secretary-of-homeland-security-michael-chertoff/comment-page-1/#comment-1125 jmjames Thu, 13 Nov 2008 15:02:17 +0000 http://www.formortals.com/?p=134#comment-1125 Interesting discussion indeed! I am in completely agreement over the issues around SSNs and ID. I find it incredulous that I need to provide a video rental store with almost enough information to open a bank account or get a passport, just to rent a copy of "Total Recall". I was flabergasted in college that my SSN was my student ID number, as well as the account number of my student debit account, which was then printed on every receipt from the student convenience store. I was shocked when I was looking into getting a satellite TV system, and they wanted all of the information to do a full credit check BEFORE even quoting me a price; I refused to do so, because they don't need that information as far as I am concerned.<br><br>This country desparately needs a smartcard ID which is controlled by the federal government and available to anyone regardless of their legal status. Period. I think that it is rediculous that if you don't have a driver's license (and you really don't need one in a lot of places) that you are persona non grata as far as half of the institutions out there are concerned. Even more shameful is that things like a family Bible with baptismal dates, or school admittance papers is considered proof of age and identity in many states... the drivers license is considered "Strong ID" because it comes from the government, but it is trivial to get one! Furthermore, I would rather see people of non-citizen status (regardless of how they got here, and whether or not they are supposed to be here) have ID that universally works, than to not have ID. Finally, it is a royal pain in the neck to write processes and systems that take into account all of the various forms of ID out there... SSNs, drivers licenses, green cards, alien registration numbers, etc. Look at the instructions for the I-9 form for an example. I would much rather see 1 system, 1 number, 1 verification.<br><br>Is it "Big Brother"? Maybe. But in this case, I would rather have "Big Brother" than "no supervision" like we have now, leading to the current mess.<br><br>J.Ja Interesting discussion indeed! I am in completely agreement over the issues around SSNs and ID. I find it incredulous that I need to provide a video rental store with almost enough information to open a bank account or get a passport, just to rent a copy of "Total Recall". I was flabergasted in college that my SSN was my student ID number, as well as the account number of my student debit account, which was then printed on every receipt from the student convenience store. I was shocked when I was looking into getting a satellite TV system, and they wanted all of the information to do a full credit check BEFORE even quoting me a price; I refused to do so, because they don’t need that information as far as I am concerned.

This country desparately needs a smartcard ID which is controlled by the federal government and available to anyone regardless of their legal status. Period. I think that it is rediculous that if you don’t have a driver’s license (and you really don’t need one in a lot of places) that you are persona non grata as far as half of the institutions out there are concerned. Even more shameful is that things like a family Bible with baptismal dates, or school admittance papers is considered proof of age and identity in many states… the drivers license is considered "Strong ID" because it comes from the government, but it is trivial to get one! Furthermore, I would rather see people of non-citizen status (regardless of how they got here, and whether or not they are supposed to be here) have ID that universally works, than to not have ID. Finally, it is a royal pain in the neck to write processes and systems that take into account all of the various forms of ID out there… SSNs, drivers licenses, green cards, alien registration numbers, etc. Look at the instructions for the I-9 form for an example. I would much rather see 1 system, 1 number, 1 verification.

Is it "Big Brother"? Maybe. But in this case, I would rather have "Big Brother" than "no supervision" like we have now, leading to the current mess.

J.Ja

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