British Telecom Pushes Universal ID Check System 278
miladus writes "URU (You Are You) is a new ID verification scheme from BT designed to
allow government and businesses to confirm identities on the net. The BBC has a full report on how, according to BT officials, 'URU will be a major ingredient in transforming and joining up government... and how it will
become ubiquitous for citizens, businesses, etc.'. Apparently, URU complies with European privacy laws."
Uh oh. (Score:5, Funny)
Do you copy? (Score:5, Funny)
TK-421! Why aren't you at you post?
Re:Do you copy? (Score:2)
Ick (Score:5, Insightful)
Or any kind of site for that matter.
Re:Ick (Score:2)
Re:Ick (Score:2)
A more noble pursuit ?? (Score:2)
If you are searching for a peace prize I'd suggest the nobel approach...
http://www.nobel.se/
Re:Ick (Score:5, Funny)
Here's a hint on how to deal with them. Read the bible.. I didnt say BELIEVE it. That's what thumpers' only weapon is. And if taken out of context, the bible contradicts itself quite a bit.
After you best them in an argument of "religion", make a snide comment how I'm ATHEIST and I know more about the Bible than you do!!
Really pisses them off
Btw, I'm Catholic, and I get thumped for playing AD&D, M:TG and various pc games (Unreal-like games, NWN, and others). So far, I'm going to hell 7 times
Re:Ick (Score:2)
I know the tough questions to ask in a "discussion", but this thread is not so much about the rights/wrongs of religion as it is about the tendency of C-hurch to want to control or censor others. You being thumped for your hobbies (all of which I share) is a prime example. The witchhunts of recent times (D&D with Mazes&Monsters, the ignorance (I still can't cast spells with my M:TG cards), and the tendency to hold back any knowledge that doesn't perfectly mesh with the T-ruth (evolution and Darwinism) nicely highlight my worry about religions getting access to a database of "sinners". Remember, abortion doctors have been gunned down after their privacy was compromised...
And I've lost count of how many times I'm going to hell, the rules seem to change every week. :-)
Re:Ick (Score:3, Interesting)
Too true. It happens on many faucets. You have Wal-Mart (Sam Walton?)selling stuff based on a morality clause, and what they buy and dont can break a business. Blockbuster severly edits 'choice' films for _proper_ consumption. The list goes on and on. That's on the wide scale. On the local scale, middle and high schoolers are raided by radical parents who the schools are teaching "choice" things, or the school isnt regulating certain behaviors (like playing card games/RPG's at lunch). I've actually had a substitute teacher come to my table and start preaching at us (me in particular) that Magic:The Gathering was going to "SEND US TO HELL!!" We all just shrugged her off and went on our way playing that game. What else could we do? We were high schoolers, she had position of power (as teacher).
---You being thumped for your hobbies (all of which I share) is a prime example. The witchhunts of recent times (D&D with Mazes&Monsters, the ignorance (I still can't cast spells with my M:TG cards),
What I thought was funny is when they said AD&D caused suicides. What they didnt do is to compare the suicide rate of RPG'ers to the US average. The difference was exponentially lower for AD&D players.
---and the tendency to hold back any knowledge that doesn't perfectly mesh with the T-ruth (evolution and Darwinism) nicely highlight my worry about religions getting access to a database of "sinners".
I still dont believe in true evolution. Too many holes (like, where's the link from the apes to humans?). Neither do I believe in what happens in Genesis. Great story though. I simply throw the thoery of hwo we all got here in choice 3: Not Enough Information.
I still ask myself, how did all of this stuff pop up here? I thought that matter/energy couldnt be created, and yet here it is. There's thoeries of 10D universes and other funny super-physics (hawking crap). Still, nothing to formly explain how all this material/energy popped up here.
---Remember, abortion doctors have been gunned down after their privacy was compromised...
I know. I have my own belifs about abortion (hate it) but you dont kill somebody just because they killed. That's just not justification. Seriously, I dont know what IS justification for even legitimate death penalty cases. The cost of the state murdering somebody costs 3X more than if they have life sentance. It's also hard to give somebody a reprieve if they're in the ground (they really didnt do it).
Still, my belifs are that all doctors should have MANDATORY state lookups for medical practices. Just as we look at hardware listings to compare prices and goods, I want to do the same with doctors. I also want no way a doctor can eliminate fraud, lawsuits, and settlements from his "rap sheet".
Remember, murder is ILLEGAL And yes, I disagree with the abortion-only doctor list. Reading the websites they were hosted on made it look like a hit-list. Guess what? They were.
And there is no privacy in the US anymore. Check out Lexis-Nexis if you dont believe me (and some of it scares the shit outta me).
And I've lost count of how many times I'm going to hell, the rules seem to change every week.
"If you dont believ me, you go to hell!!!"
"I'd rather go to YOUR HELL if I dont have to hear your yapping mouth anymore!"
(I've actually said that response...)
Re:Ick (Score:2)
But its' not the contradictions in the bible that get people all steamed up, its' the contradictions in the lives of people who claim to follow the bible, w/o having even read it cover to cover (after all, if they haven't read it all, how can they claim to believe it?
Interesting fact: A seminary teacher asked his students on the first day of class how many of them had read the whole bible. None had, even though all these "fine young people were called to serve God". 4 years later, he asked the graduating students the same question.Guess what - same answer!
Now, to get back on-topic - this post-9/11 security mentality is really stupid - especially since the latest technology a.k.a. biometrics is being touted as enhancing security. But do a google on "biometric gummy bear" to see how thumb scans, iris scans, and full-face scans can be fooled for less than $10.00, and in many cases, for free.
Re:Ick (Score:2)
This doesn't help. They believe what they choose to believe for reasons that please them. The bible is merely an excuse. They ignore any parts they feel like, and calling them on this only increases their ire at you, it doesn't serve any useful purpose. I'd like to say "Morons, the lot of them", but the group includes many people who, outside of their insanity, are actually pretty intelligent.
Mods on crack... not a troll (Score:2)
The fact that the AC posted going to church as a solution was simply a nice segue.
My point is a valid one, not a troll. If I was trolling, I'd post AC.
Re:Mods on crack... not a troll (Score:2)
http://www.plif.com/archive/wc215.gif
It would make a great t-shirt.
Re:Mods on crack... not a troll (Score:2)
The segue about church was a pet peeve and a point.
The the altar boy kiddie porn comment was flamebaitish, but it still brought up the notion that the church monitors others more than itself.
Or are you telling me saying anything negative about religion is flamebait?
Re:Mods on crack... not a troll (Score:2)
TBH, I wouldn't have added that quip if the parent poster hadn't insinuated that going to C-hurch was as noble a pursuit as community, exercising, or volunteer work. I probably wouldn't have added it without the capital C.
It still was not the true point of the post to be flamebait, however.
Re:Mods on crack... not a troll (Score:2)
This doesn't mean that half of the laws are bad. I would estimate the proportion of bad laws as considerably higher than half, and many of the religion inspired laws are actually socially useful. You can't make any easy correlation here.
The thing to remember is, whatever other reason a law might have (in particular for it's exact formulation), the primary purpose of the laws are to benefit those in power. Some of the people in power have felt benefited by laws that aid the common weal. Unfortunately, not only is the proportion small, it's been getting smaller as the population per representative has increased.
Re:Ick (Score:2, Interesting)
Either way, that is one group that would really like to control what other people do. The potential for abuse here is staggering, considering how closely tied church and government tend to be (here, anyway).
Re:Ick (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Ick (Score:2)
It seems that a lot of censorship comes directly from church groups imposing their will on others. For example, in my state you can't buy alcohol or a car on Sunday. Why? I've even seen a full page ad taken out on the back of the TV section trying to pressure TV stations into heavier local censorship. Totally ridiculous stuff, IMHO. If you don't want to see it, change the channel.
Relationship to Liberty & Passport (Score:3, Interesting)
Welcome... (Score:5, Insightful)
How long before everyong revolts?
Re:Welcome... (Score:2, Insightful)
I'd say we're still well within the "more disposed to suffer" phase. To move the great mass of people to fight will take far more abusive measures than have yet been taken.
And yet, those measures will come, eventually. It's no longer a question of "if", but "when".
Re:Welcome... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Welcome... (Score:2)
Re:Welcome... (Score:2)
Great... yet another clever way of increasing the volume of unsolicited email, which of course is something we all desire fervently. Think of how many emails this will add to the daily load, as identity verification becomes more common.
Re:Welcome... (Score:3, Interesting)
"We envisage that URU will become ubiquitous for citizens, businesses and government and we predict that in 10 years' time, 90% of ID checks will be done in this way," he added.
Initially the system is being trialled by well-known retail banks, he said.
</quote>
Does this sound like one of those stupid late-90's dot-bomb schemes, full of baseless predictions. Why not name the banks, (unless they don't exist outside the promoters' marketing mind).
Re:Welcome... (Score:2)
Sire, the people are revolting!
I know! I cant stand them either!
Ok, the first of you that throws a rock at me is gonna...... THUD
Re:Welcome... (Score:5, Interesting)
Short of Government Desk Jockeys, Domestic Intelligence Agencies, and Identity Thieves, I really don't who would find this all that useful.
The fact that I CHOOSE to call myself EvilTwinSkippy, and that I am EvilTwinSkippy on a few other websites is a voluntary choice on my part. I have selected that persona, and if the persona no longer suits me at some point, I'll put it down and start a new persona.
A number is a highly impersonal thing, like a license plate or a MAC address. Having gotten parking tickets because the meter maid was a digit off (how else could my white ford escort be mistaken for a blue chevy pickup) the oppertunity for error is amazing. Hell, my wife is getting junk mail (right down to credit card offers) for her sister because a catalogue company mixed up their 2 accounts. It also doesn't hurt that one is Sara and the other Dara. (S and D are right next to each other on a standard US Qwerty style keyboard.)
Now harmless junkmail is ok, but imagine if medical records got crisscrossed, or criminal records? And it doesn't even have to be family, imaging if you are TT-1231-12512 and TT-2231-12512 is a wanted terrorist? Or if TY-1231-12512 has an outstanding warrent in New Jersey for driving without a license?
URU is a very bad idea. A very very very bad idea, especially for causual use by business and beaurocrats.
its not new (Score:5, Funny)
What about possibilities in U.S.A? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:What about possibilities in U.S.A? (Score:5, Funny)
What American privacy laws? Europe has privacy laws, the US has Equifax.
Re:What about possibilities in U.S.A? (Score:2)
The USA has the second amendment. Back when salesmen were door-to-door and all, pretty much until the Internet cropped up, that's been the only privacy law we've really needed.
Re:What about possibilities in U.S.A? (Score:2)
Phone companies with too much power aren't new (Score:2, Funny)
E-mail compromised... (Score:5, Insightful)
That is a step in the right direction, but does anyone see a problem with that solution? If my identity has been compromised, then maybe my e-mail is also compromised...
Notification (Score:3, Insightful)
The only thing that would make this scheme different that current identification methods is the automatic notification (by email) any time the URU identity is used:
It... will e-mail them every time their ID is requestedI suspect that someone's URU ID could be misused by someone else as easily as any other ID, but at least you would find out about such misuse before the cops/creditors come pounding on your door.
Re:Notification (Score:2)
Re:Notification (Score:5, Insightful)
Not quite the idea is to have the same ID used for unconnected things. Which is a generally bad idea.
I suspect that someone's URU ID could be misused by someone else as easily as any other ID, but at least you would find out about such misuse before the cops/creditors come pounding on your door.
Unless they are able to also compromise the contact details. e.g. using the ID to get at your email.
Re:Notification (Score:2, Insightful)
The control I exercise over my privacy is directly correlated with my perception of its use. I only worry about it if I feel there's a reasonable potential for abuse. At this point that feeling is often based on naive assumptions, I know, but with a notifcation system I'd be substantially better informed.
Separate from any given protection scheme, I'd very much like to be informed about who wants my info and ideally why, though if I know the who I suppose I can ask them why myself.
Unique ID? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Unique ID? (Score:2)
Fred J. Bloggs and (grandson) Fred J. Bloggs.
John Smith and (no relation) John Smith.
I like the original better (Score:4, Funny)
You Are You > YAY!!
Great. (Score:5, Insightful)
And within a year you will have to use it to authenticate with your ISP's proxy server.. (And no direct connection to the internet).
The possibilities are endless for abuse ......
URU? (Score:4, Funny)
Re:URU? (Score:2)
Sorry.. had to try it again.
URU == ID card (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:URU == ID card (Score:3, Insightful)
Unlikely, although it's the wet dream of whichever lot happen to be in government at the time, the fact that none of them have managed to think up a reason for wanting it means that they've never manage to go through with it.
The traditional argument was that it'll somehow reduce crime, but if anyone asks which crimes will be reduced just ignore the question. Murders? Burglaries? Pickpocketing? Illegal parking?
More recently it's supposed to prevent illegal immigration. Of course that could work if people were actually required to show their ID so often that it was impractical to live without one, but even David Blunket isn't going to openly propose that.
Reality is that although the government, whichever party is in power, always desperately wants to introduce ID cards (for reasons never made clear), the public don't want them and the opposition, again whichever party that is, is always more than happy to make political capital out of tearing apart whatever flimsy arguments the government comes up with.
I don't expect an identity card to be introduced in the UK.
Re:URU == ID card (Score:2, Insightful)
trying to figure it all out... (Score:3, Interesting)
The URU proposal has some interesting elements:
*(it appears) that inclusion in the database would be voluntary, per European and British data privacy laws
*the "check number" is essentially the electrical meter on your house. meaning that, at least in some way, the number can be changed, at least by you moving elsewhere. furthermore, there is no reason why anyone else would have that number, theoretically. it's a semi-constant.
*you are automagically notified when someone performs a check, and i suspect that checks can only be performed when the person authorizes them.
While the current British government is a bit fixed on putting an "entitlement card" together which will essentially be the you can't live without it national ID card, this proposal is vaguely interesting to me. I need more info to run it through a security model though.
Re:trying to figure it all out... (Score:2)
This was my take, as well.
One detail you omitted to mention is that the system will have access to many different government databases. It is not obvious to me how this offers any additional advantages in the way of verification (other than the obvious check to make sure that the subject is still alive), but it does set off my "major privacy concerns" alarm.
ID number? (Score:4, Interesting)
what if you move a lot? does your number change every time?
Wouldn't something a little more unique and static be of more use?
Vague on Details (Score:3, Insightful)
It seems to me that with all the nifty encryption technology now available, Big Brother attempts like this could do a better job of preventing fraud than just coming up with another global id scheme.
Anybody have any pointers to more detailed descriptions of this plan?
Re:Vague on Details (Score:2)
Currently if someone got hold of your electricity customer number they couldn't do that much and you'd only have to deal with one entity to get something done about it.
It seems to me that with all the nifty encryption technology now available, Big Brother attempts like this could do a better job of preventing fraud than just coming up with another global id scheme.
Encryption simply protects data in transit from interception and alteration. It dosn't verify the data being sent actually is the data it claims to be.
Re:Vague on Details (Score:2)
Public/Private key encryption is an excellent form of authentication. Check out PGP [pgp.com]. Or better yet, GPG [gnupg.org].
Riiiiiight (Score:3, Funny)
Too bad most people aren't honest.
URU? FU! (Score:4, Funny)
Will the email you get be just as undecipherable and irritating?
ubiquitous government, no thanks (Score:5, Insightful)
ubiquitous Audio pronunciation of ubiquitous ( P ) Pronunciation Key (y-bkw-ts)
adj.
Being or seeming to be everywhere at the same time; omnipresent: "plodded through the shadows fruitlessly like an ubiquitous spook" (Joseph Heller).
Is this something you really want your government to be?
I want to know where the people in the governmant are at all times.
Uru (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Uru (Score:2)
great, a game where you have to wait 12 hours, then have to solve some music puzzle, enev thought you are tone deaf..boy, can't wait.
Still follows privacy laws? (Score:4, Funny)
the only details that will be entered are name, address and Meter Point Asset Number - the number in the corner of every household electricity bill which is unique to that property
But then they go and cause more distrust of the program, by stating of these numbers:
It could also become a pre-requisite of any universal ID card
And lastly, I feel we've all eard this one before:
It is a pro-active way to protect your identity
Well, ok, one more, but only because it sounds funny out of context:
we need mega-systems
whois 666 (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:whois 666 (Score:2)
At least with bar codes the identification made some sense. The battle for our rights will be better fought with intelligent discourse than with reactionary bible-thumping, I think.
Mind you, anything that prompts a reference to the masterful Naked [imdb.com] can't be all bad..
Why is it "reactionary bible-thumping?" (Score:5, Informative)
For the subset of Slashdot readers who are Christians, this is a relevant comment. For two-thousand years, Christians have had a prophecy regarding the identification of every man, woman and child on this planet. For a Christian, the Mark of the Beast IS intelligent discourse because it is a very real concern.
Personally, I think your slight is more of a reactionary, knee-jerk response showing your anti-Christian bias than the Biblical quote being discussed.
Re:Why is it "reactionary bible-thumping?" (Score:5, Insightful)
Incidentally, I'm using "reactionary" in the sense of "being conservative" -- such references to the Bible, a book which though beautifully written is nonetheless a difficult source for either moral or intellectual discussion, smack of hysteria. Having a "very real concern" doesn't really mean anything -- I might be worried that aliens are employing these ids to catalogue us all and thus find appropriate mates for their martian daughters, but it doesn't make it my views any better considered.
I've nothing against biblical references, so long as there's any kind of real point or basis to them. But to start implying that the End is Nigh on the basis of nothing more than a silly government plan is, frankly, ridiculous.
Re:Why is it "reactionary bible-thumping?" (Score:2)
???
It is a great source of moral and intellectual discussion.
the point, which is relevent to this thread, is that the bible predicts a complet catalog of all humans.
Now we could discuss how the effect of that statement, and peoples reaction to, it could make it a self-fulfilling prophecy, Or how in the US, the constitution could cause a seperation of believer and non believer because introducing a wide spread system mey make it difficult to purchase goods without the identifier. Maybe in the US the constitution would prevent a national ID because it would descriminate on a feligous basis.
But I guess you wouldn't consider that a place to start an intellectual discussion.
Re:Why is it "reactionary bible-thumping?" (Score:2)
Re:Why is it "reactionary bible-thumping?" (Score:2)
Not identification--forced tattooing.
Re:Why is it "reactionary bible-thumping?" (Score:2, Funny)
Yes, God, although He is Absolutely Perfect in other matters, is just so-so when it comes to writing documentation.
Re:Why is it "reactionary bible-thumping?" (Score:2)
that is pretty much the only part of the bible that God 'wrote'.
Re:Why is it "reactionary bible-thumping?" (Score:2)
Could you imagine even 100 years ago proposing a way to maintain tracking of every person on the earth?
But here we are, with the technology to do so.
You may not believe, but it is relevant, however your response really has no merit with the thread, which is about tracking people, not about the merits of christianity.
I find it interesting you believe in a system that throws people to the lions for what they believe.
Re:whois 666 (Score:2)
If they were to ever reopen the Christian canon, my wish is that they would drop Revelations and substitute Dicken's A Christmas Carol.
Re:whois 666 (Score:2, Funny)
No, no, that wouldn't do at all. If you pay attention, you'll see that Revelation is one of only two books that Bible-thumpers read. They read the Genesis and, realizing how many pages there are in the whole Bible, skip to the Revelation, to see if the butler did it.
Re:whois 666 (Score:2)
This doesn't mean that it's incorrect to apply it here. Events that take place in mythic time take place in all times and places. Just as now is 1984, so now is also the time of the Great Beast. Both are reasonable, and, insofar as the descriptions match the actuality, reasonable correspondences. (Being historic doesn't prevent an event from being mythic. Now is also the time of Patrick Henry's "Give me liberty or give me death!", if you are one to whom that is true. Might be hard to work in the Virginia Legistors, though.)
Just a suggestion... (Score:2)
English Imperialism Wins Again! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:English Imperialism Wins Again! (Score:2)
And coming soon... (Score:5, Funny)
Security of information. (Score:2, Interesting)
They get caught occasionally but what about the times they don't.
A security token is only as trustworthy as its issuer.
Cool (Score:3, Funny)
Doubt it (Score:5, Interesting)
If the Meter ID of every BT customer is on their bill, one only needs there name and address (probably on the same bill!) to act on their behalf.
This seems to fly in the face of how any private key system would work. If it is a public key, what are the channels that ensure nobody else can use such an identity?
I predict this will go up in flames. I see the electric bills of past residents of apartments all the time, simply floating into mailboxes long after they've left. If BT still thinks they live there, then "IMU" when I use this info.
Forgive me if this opinion results from ignorance of BT magical "meter id" number. But nevertheless, private passwords exist for a reason. None of the source info here seems quite secure.
mug
Joy, Bliss. And the problems are .... (Score:5, Interesting)
I can see obvious problems with this, having had my identity stolen a little in the UK.
2 years ago I had a cheque (check) book and American Express card stolen from the post. They were stolen by either
From that information the thieves now had my full name, bank details and details of a credit card I held (albeit a cancelled cards and cancelled cheques). From this information they purchased mobile phones, billed to me and applied for numerous store cards. I only discovered this when the bills started arriving.
Now, if BT's scheme goes off information available on the Electricity bill (keep in mind there are NUMEROUS electricity suppliers, so numerous databases to tie together), what is to stop someone stealing your electricity bill? Note that the electricy reference is per household, not per person. Now, tie this into the electoral role (which is already sold to marketers, and you can check and query it at your local library, so it's not private) that might almost be adequate.
Except the electoral role is updated once a year. You can actually manage to miss it completly if you move at exactly the wrong time.
Also people can choose to opt out of the data sharing that the electoral role provides (but not the information sharing to the credit agencies).
Lets not forget that BT is a private company, not answerable to anyone except the shareholders. I'm not sure if this is better or worse than the government forcing a scheme through.
Re:Joy, Bliss. And the problems are .... (Score:2)
see this web page [electoralc...ion.org.uk]
The electoral register now comes in two formats, one which is available only to returning officers, credit reference agencies and political parties, and an edited version made available to marketers. You can opt out of being listed in the edited version if you wish.
See this web page [electoralc...ion.org.uk]
All together now.... (Score:2)
(Stupid-A$$ lameness filter)
Who's on first? (Score:3, Interesting)
I wonder what the folks at Cyan and Ubisoft think about this? They've announced a game named Uru: Online Ages Beyond Myst [ubi.com], for relase in Q4 2003. I wonder who got the trademark first?
Re:Who's on first? (Score:2)
Now how in the heck is it off-topic to mention a possible trademark infringement by a company (BT) that purports to be interested in personal privacy?
Or isn't the slashdot audience interested in intellectual property issues anymore?
this is double-plus-ungood (Score:2, Funny)
BC
And how does it insure that URU? (Score:2)
I go through your garbage and find a elecrtic bill, now I have your name and add. How does it stop me?
I am employed at joe blows video rental bonanza. You come to open an account. How does it stop me?
I fail to see how this is going to work. Please someone explain how any of this is secret?
U.R.U....what it REALLY means (Score:2)
URU? (Score:2)
And in other news.... (Score:3, Funny)
No ID system is the safest. (Score:5, Insightful)
Reasons to be against the war (Score:2, Insightful)
When 65% of the voting population isn't voting due to mono-politics you can honestly say it has failed. If arab populations buy into it, it's our countries corporate sanctions that will be lifted and the business elite will enlarge thier coffers at our countries finacial credit expense. If our *leaders* succeed in pushing this form of democracy, there is only betrayal for the majority of arabs because this fiction cannot be maintained for long.
Re:Makes me glad I'm an American (Score:2, Offtopic)
Re:Makes me glad I'm an American (Score:2)
Re:Oh Really? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Yeah this definitely belongs under "privacy" (Score:5, Informative)
Yup, you and I both have Social Security Numbers... Now, they started as an honest (I hope) component of "The New Deal" and started being assigned in the mid-1930's. The problems arose during the cold war.. that is when the US govt started using the SSN as a type of national ID number... so, have you ever applied for a credit card without a SSN? Have you ever used a credit card online? (Can you even make purchases/transactions online without a credit/debit card?)
Just my $.02 on the matter...
Re:Yeah this definitely belongs under "privacy" (Score:3, Interesting)
In addition, most countries have a "birth number" - in many countries, it's in the format of YYMMDD/XXXX, where XXXX is a number assigned by the national birth registry. This number, too, is often used as a personal identification number.
Finally, I'd like to remind you that the personal ID number for computers was already here once - remember that unique ID# embeded in Pentium III chips? The one that intel later released a patch for to disable (which almost nobody did)? Well, that's still here, and people are quiet about whether the same system is used in Pentium IV or not...
Re:Yeah this definitely belongs under "privacy" (Score:4, Informative)
Most modern numeric IDs are generated with a built in hash (using extra digits in the number itself) So while you may only need 1000 IDs for you might make your id field much larger, say 1 - 1000000. This would allow you to use some of the digits for a "checksum"
This would make it more difficult to falsly create IDs, but more usefull, it makes it unlikely that you'd fat-finger them when transcribing.
All in all your SSN is a poor identifier. That's one reason (of many) why it should not be used the way it is today i.e. Everywhere!
=Shreak
Big Brother (Score:3, Insightful)
As a member of the IETF for PKI-X, I can tell you that this whole thing is about to sweep the world. It all operates off Public Key Infrastructure. Essentially, you get a cert from the government that they can use to identify you. While there are a lot of legitamate uses, I think that all forms of government should be treated with a certain amount of paranoia.
How much more damage would Hitler have done if he had computerized access to everyone's banking records and been able to track every transaction? How about identification papers, travel permits, work passes, etc. that are signed with virtually unbreakable encryption? Let's see if that still makes you feel warm and fuzzy about your government knowing who you are when you send email, while your are surfing, and what you do when you are on line.
Queen B