New York Issues RFID-Encoded Drivers Licenses 288
JagsLive passes along the intelligence that New York has become the second state to issue drivers licenses with RFID tags (Washington was the first). The new "enhanced drivers licenses" cost $30 more than the old ones. They can be used instead of a passport for entry into the US by land or sea (not air) from Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean. Authorities say no personal information will be stored or transmitted by the chip, only an ID number that will be meaningless to anyone but DHS. Citizens of New York who prefer not to carry an identifying RFID chip can still get an old-style license.
optional for how long? (Score:5, Interesting)
You'd be Wrong (Score:5, Interesting)
1. All the talk about "tracking" is nonsense. An RFID anything has a range measured in inches normally. Stuff it in your wallet sandwiched in between more cards and it pretty much won't work.
2. $30 is about right after all is said and done. No one is getting rich making these cards. There's secure printing, personalization, etc.
3. What's the application though? If it is just border crossings, then do border crossings have the infrastructure to process a contactless card?
4. Accidentally leaving the card inside a microwave oven while you are warming coffee would harm the chip, so don't ever do that.
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An RFID anything has a range measured in inches normally.
I don't think you need to look further than Defcon to see the fun things you can do with RFID tags. In fact, if I recall correctly, at Defcon 13, they read an RFID token from at least 69 feet away.
Re:You'd be Wrong (Score:4, Funny)
In fact, if I recall correctly, at Defcon 13, they read an RFID token from at least 69 feet away.
That was only reported in the hope that there would be some sex-related joke to come out of Defcon. The real story is that they couldn't get more than 67' 4" out of it.
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An RFID chip Normally has a ranged of Inches
that is limited by the stock reader that is designed to normally work with it
Enter High gain receivers antennas , digital signal processing and a function called integration
with that, the data stream is No longer limited to inches.
With such a setup in minutes , It can read RFID chips very far away even miles away
We must think beyond normal and think about what the military, governments and bad ass terrorists can do.
An RFID reader is a radio transponder i
Re:You'd be Wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
And why does it have to be contactless for ANY of the proposed applications?
Am I the only one who fails to see the push for RFID in identifying cards? I've use my mastercard with RFID chip at the local supermarket. It's really NO more convenient than the magstripe... but it DOES open up the possibility that someone could clone my card from a few feet away!!! Furthermore, I don't see how this benefits the CC company. I've never had a magstripe on a credit card wear out before the bank sent me a new one (and I use my credit card at least once or twice a day)...
If you really are JUST storing an identifier on the drivers license, wouldn't a barcode or magstripe accomplish the same thing, AND be MUCH more secure? My current NYS drivers license has one of those fancy 2D looking barcodes. Isn't that sufficient for storing an ID number? If it isn't, then what about just printing another one of those. There's plenty of space! Not only would that be cheaper (hardware is currently in place), but it would also be impossible to probe from dozens of feet away!
Re:You'd be Wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
Privacy is so long gone it's frightening. The "if you don't have anything to hide" meme has been swallowed hook, line and sinker by enough of the population that whole sale loss of privacy is the way forward from here. Once the system is in place its only a matter of time until it gets dragged into everything. Lets say you get into an accident but can't find any witnesses. I'm sure lawyers will be clamoring for access to the databases to subpeona potential witnesses. Too close to a murder scene? You'll be talking to detectives shortly. Living next door to a drug dealer? Oops, you were within 100 meters so you're a possible drug user according to the latest "proximity to potential criminality" algorithms.
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An RFID anything has a range measured in inches normally.
The terrorists are already getting spam for pills that will increase those inches. Just you wait.
Actually he's right -- check out the REAL ID card (Score:3, Interesting)
1. All the talk about "tracking" is nonsense. An RFID anything has a range measured in inches normally. Stuff it in your wallet sandwiched in between more cards and it pretty much won't work.
Until the next technology comes along -- then you can be tracked with all the range they want. But by then it will be too late to argue about it and you would just look like one those "tinfoil hat" types or a "conspiracy kook" if you questioned it. All Americans want to be tracked to help their government fight "terrorism", don't they?
3. What's the application though? If it is just border crossings, then do border crossings have the infrastructure to process a contactless card?
The application is -- you guessed it -- remote tracking. The newest U.S. Passports as of July of this year all have RFID chips in them as well. It's not perfect, but yet
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there have been several demostrations of people able to read RFID tags at a significantly greater distance with the right hardware.
And what exactly will they discover? Some long string of bytes that's all. What do the bytes mean? You watch too many movies where these bytes lead to some impossible story progression.
Well, obviously the border crossings have a scanner, otherwise what would the point be?
Are there scanners now? Are they compatible? That's a non-obvious question, but very relevant in the c
Re:You'd be Wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
A unique string of bytes. It's different for every person, but it's the same every time you read the same person, so you just need to tie it to identifying info once. Walk past a reader, buy something with debit card, and upload the tuple to a server. Now when you walk by a different reader, doubleclick knows who you are.
It's a cookie.
That would be Minority Report.
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Now when you walk by a different reader, doubleclick knows who you are.
Oh no. You mean there will be targeted ads for stuff we might buy? The world will turn into a real life Amazon.com or Netflix, "Hello, Bob. You bought lingerie, hand cuffs and black duct tape last time. Similar buyers also bought whips."
Re:You'd be Wrong (Score:5, Insightful)
Now when you walk by a different reader, doubleclick knows who you are.
Oh no. You mean there will be targeted ads for stuff we might buy? The world will turn into a real life Amazon.com or Netflix, "Hello, Bob. You bought lingerie, hand cuffs and black duct tape last time. Similar buyers also bought whips."
Thats funny, but that will be possible in the future. A system is possible using:
to
It may be possible already, if not, then soon.
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And what exactly will they discover? Some long string of bytes that's all.
And where that string of bytes travels. No longer do you have to present your license ; the RFID can be read at a distance. You don't need to know the format ; the number should be unique in any given system. All you need is to associate that number with the person.
Corporate? They'll scan you at the counter and tie your RFID to your payment card details or loyalty card. Now they know when you walk into the store, which aisles you hover around, which things to send you coupons for.
Once the corporates have th
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Again, you assume you know how this works and rely on Minority Report/V for Vendetta moviethink. When the reality is so completely different I won't bother wasting any more time on it.
Yes, because we know that movie plots have never had a basis in reality. And books never predicted anything.. I mean, 1984.. what's up with that book? That'll never happen... ...
Right?
are they paying 24/7 at mini wage of better for th (Score:2)
are they paying you 24/7 at mini wage of better for that?
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In Soviet Russia, RFID chips come standard with YOU!!!!
remove the chip? (Score:4, Interesting)
What are the legalities of defacing the ID by removing the chip?
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You can still get a liscense without the chip, so I don't really see the point. Unless you just want to waste $30 to get an RFID chip that contains nothing but an ID number.
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The article (while it does mention the current licenses) doesn't mention whether or not these new IDs will be replacing them or not, or if they give you an option to purchase one or the other hence my wondering about removing the chip.
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everyone laughs at you for losing 30 bucks.
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What are the legalities of defacing the ID by removing the chip?
Troll? I skimmed the article and didn't see an answer there.
Seems like a valid question to me...
Not by air? (Score:4, Insightful)
What a waste then.
Why not just get a regular drivers license and a passport as two different pieces of identity.
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Why not just get a regular drivers license and a passport as two different pieces of identity.
It's a lot easier to forget or lose a passport than a license plate.
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ummm drivers license, not license plate... and a license is easier to lose.
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Crap... Reading comprehension failure on TF title. Please mod my post into oblivion...
Still, my license is on me all the time. My passport lives in a locked filing cabinet and only sees light when I go overseas. I may actually opt for this if I were frequently traveling to/from Canada/Mexico.
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meh, we all have abrain fart from time to time... but you make a good point, all those flks in upstate NY might like to be able to go across the border a bit easier, still I would not consolidate my ID in this fasion on principle alone! I dont think states should be issueing ID to suit federal standards..
Re:Not by air? (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't know... I'm tempted to question why a driver's license is used as ID in the first place. It's a license to drive a car, but people treat it like it's a universal ID and everyone is supposed to have one.
Why not your license to own a pet? Or... I don't know, your license to be a lifeguard? Your license to carry a gun?
Like why should having a license to drive be taken as proof of identity and authorization to leave/enter the country?
Re:Not by air? (Score:5, Informative)
Because its a convenient and commonplace ID, that is usually issued by every state in a form that also allows nondrivers to get one too.
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Well, yeah, I know that's *why*. My post is somewhat rhetorical, and I say, "I'm tempted to question..." My point is that we do it out of tradition and convenience, but not because it's any kind of a well thought out system.
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In places like New York where lots of people don't even know how to drive, you can get a "state ID" that everyone will take instead of a driver's license. I know it was the same in Pennsylvania and IIRC New Jersey. I've even gotten into a bar with my passport before. Most places specify a "government-issued ID", and not a driver's license specifically.
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That, and the fact that every time some sort of national ID card comes up people start screaming about infringing on rights, etc.
That's hilarious (Score:3, Funny)
So in the one instance where you *clearly* are not planning to drink and drive, you can't buy the liquor? Kafka lives on!
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I don't know... I'm tempted to question why a driver's license is used as ID in the first place. It's a license to drive a car, but people treat it like it's a universal ID and everyone is supposed to have one.
Because it's the most common government-issued photo ID. The several states also issue similar-looking IDs that do not include a license to drive.
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Unfortunately most states only allow you to get one or the other -- if you are licensed to drive you may not obtain a non-drivers ID.
Re:Not by air? (Score:5, Funny)
I don't know... I'm tempted to question why a driver's license is used as ID in the first place. It's a license to drive a car, but people treat it like it's a universal ID and everyone is supposed to have one.
Cause it's America. How did you get wherever you are to show your ID if not by car? But you do have a good point, and next time I buy beer I'm gonna pull out the dog license. Then again, the gun license might get free beer and an opportunity to witness my tax dollars at work.
Are you stupid? (Score:3, Informative)
A driver's license is used because it meets the requirement for government-issued photo-identification. You can also use a state-issued ID card any time you would use a driver's license EXCEPT for driving. It just so happens that most adults want to be licensed to drive, so if they need a driver's license anyway, there's not much point in ALSO having a state ID card.**
You can NOT use your pet owner's license card or your hunting license card (depending on the state and purpose, your hunting license might
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Because you're not required to have a license to own a pet, or be a lifeguard, or carry a gun. Pretty much every adult outside a major metropolitan area has a Driver's License though.
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Also your driver's license is a photo ID that is registered by the government. But it doesn't bother me that much, and most places will accept other forms of ID, though not a pet license :) Usually military service cards will work.
But that doesn't bother me as much as social security numbers being universally required. Here's a hint for anyone who isn't aware: You really aren't required to hand over your SSN to anyone who asks. When I apply for a job I write in that I'll provide my SSN after I'm hired.
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I have an uncle who lives near Buffalo, and his business takes him into Canada at least two or three times a week. Now that a passport is required for that, this should be a nice asset and time saver for him. Actually, I should probably shoot him an email...
I could also see this being a nice convienence for people going on Carribean cruises that leave from Miami, or Baja cruises leaving from LA. Especially once other states start picking this up.
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Like I said. Some businesses are dicks about wanting 2 pieces of identity. Drivers license + Passport is more handy because of that. And if you lost 1, the other would usually be sufficient in getting the other.
Aside from that, I could care less about the "evul tracking". When you go to another country, you're going to be tracked cause they want you to leave when your time is up. And if you have a drivers license in the USA, they can track you by license #. Oh noes! My securities be all gones! (yeah, wouldn
quite useful for upstaters Re:Not by air? (Score:3, Interesting)
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Same here. My girlfriend is from Buffalo and when going to visit her family we often go over to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. (The view is much better and as a result all the nice hotels and bars/clubs are on the Canadian side, while the United States side is an industrial ghetto for the most part.)
I'm going to be getting an EDL as soon as I can. 15 minutes for the application down the road from me plus typical DMV mailorder time (2-3 weeks) is better than the royal pain in the ass of ordering a pa
Residents, not citizens (Score:2)
Minor nitpick: States are not sovereign entities, so people who reside in them are residents, not citizens.
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I believe that you are incorrect.
Re:Residents, not citizens (Score:4, Funny)
Actually they are; they yield only a portion of their sovereignty to the Federal government to keep the British at bay.
"Portion" my behind (Score:3, Insightful)
[The several states] yield only a portion of their sovereignty to the Federal government to keep the British at bay.
"Portion" went out the window with the Supreme Court's expansion of the scope of "commerce among the several states" in Wickard v. Filburn, 317 U.S. 111 (1942) [wikipedia.org].
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First, depending on how you want to define "citizen", it's not clear to me that states would have to be sovereign. Second, states are constitutionally semi-sovereign. The federal government can compel states in some ways, but the authority of the federal government over state matters is limited.
Of course, it's become much less limited as time has gone on, but technically they still have more sovereignty than they tend to exercise.
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Score: -1 Pedantic
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I think you need to look up the meeting of the word "state."
I think you need to look up the meaning of the word "meeting". And possibly the meaning of the word "meaning." And possibly understand the difference in pronunciation between the letters 't' and 'n'.
Meaningless? (Score:5, Insightful)
Meaningless to anyone but DHS until some nitwit with an unencrypted drive on their laptop leaves it in an airport lounge.
This is just monumentally stupid. Seriously. A monument is required to commemorate this epically stupid idea. I'm thinking a huge statue of a DHS lacky shrugging their shoulders. Preferably with an Alfred E. Neumann "What Me Worried?" look on their mug.
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Meaningless to anyone but DHS until some nitwit with an unencrypted drive on their laptop leaves it in an airport lounge.
So you information is on one more hard drive for somebody to lose. There are already plenty - It doesn't seem like this makes the likelihood of your information being mishandled much greater.
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Because then when the DHS lost their data it would not only include your name and address, but also a meaningless RFID serial number? I don't understand how this increases the threat of DHS stupidity.
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Because then when the DHS lost their data it would not only include your name and address, but also a meaningless RFID serial number? I don't understand how this increases the threat of DHS stupidity.
Thanks to Bill Clinton and a Republican congress all SS#'s are in our drivers lisences.
Check out the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reform Act (known as welfare reform) passed in 1996.
The illegal immigration law prohibits the use of state driver's licenses after Oct. 1, 2000 unless they contain Social Security numbers as the unique numeric identifier "that can be read visually or by electronic means." (Section 656(b)) The act
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Time to get tin-foil hats for our wallets.
Like hell (Score:2)
Thanks but no thanks. A simple ID number is enough to be tracked or have my identity stolen, and having one that can be read remotely is not an option. Knowing the DHS is involved it won't actually work and will be a joke on security issues, too.
If I ever get a new ID card I think I'll toss it in the microwave the day I get it.
=Smidge=
You are already being tracked (Score:5, Interesting)
Worrying about the tracking boogeyman is ridiculous.
I'm not sure why you labor under the illusion that your activities aren't tracked now. Most of your activity is in one way or another and then packaged and sold to any willing buyer including Government entities.
Credit Score? Tracking
Medical Records? This is a murky area, but I'm sure the U.S. health insurance co's would love to trade patient health scores. No. HIPPAA didn't outlaw this.
Communication? Done. FISA, Telcos, NSA, Etc.
Debit transations? Tracking.
Other finance tracking? Done. It's called taxes.
There's lots of worthy things to contribute your personal energy to. This isn't one of them.
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The RFID chip in my new bank card, which I'm not happy about, can only be read by the scanner if I hold it very close (about an inch or less). So how far away could a really powerful scanner be to still pick up the RFID information? Wouldn't it still have to be pretty close?
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Meaningless? (Score:5, Insightful)
A Social Security number is "meaningless". It's just an identifier. But it's a number that uniquely identifies you, and if other people get their hands on it, or are able to spoof it, then than meaningless number can have adverse effects on your life.
How is this "meaningless" identifier any different?
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On its own.
I want to know what is in the database and associated with that meaningless number.
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Because you can't use the DHS RFID serial number to get credit issued, which is the only (valid) reason people worry about their social security number.
You shouldn't be able to get credit issued with just an SSN either, but that's another store entirely.
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Because you can't use the DHS RFID serial number to get credit issued, which is the only (valid) reason people worry about their social security number.
Or access to your 401K
Or access to your bank accounts
Since it's a unique UID (Score:2)
Then others can read it and track/follow what you do so not entirely "meaningless".
A constant ID# is NOT meaningless... (Score:5, Insightful)
All someone needs to do is correlate your ID# with you (easy enough to do on many occasions). Once you have that, its no longer a meaningless ID number, but a unique personal tracking number.
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Like, say, the many clubs that already scan your license (barcode and/or magstripe) and add you to their database. One more type of scan, and your "meaningless" ID becomes as good as a filled-out-then-thrown-away credit card application to an identity thief.
I used to wonder about the IP address thing (Score:2)
Until I heard about this company [ip2location.com]
Before you click, be forwarned they have a live demo on their homepage which estimates your longitude and latitude based on your IP address...
Just wait until they get one of these databases going for RFID tags...
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Which makes it different from your current driver's license number how?
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That a drivers license number cannot be read off the card in your wallet from a few feet away.
Microwave it? (Score:2, Interesting)
What's the consequence of getting the RFID one and just microwaving it?
Sure, you can refuse, but..... (Score:5, Insightful)
Citizens of New York who prefer not to carry an identifying RFID chip can still get an old-style license.
And those who refuse will go right on the master list under "troublemaker/refusnik/something to hide/potential terrorist."
Hold on.. (Score:5, Interesting)
"Citizens of New York who prefer not to carry an identifying RFID chip can still get an old-style license."
Wait a second here.. the RFID licenses are $30 more expensive than regular licenses, yet the residents have the option to get the cheaper RFID-free license? Who's going to choose to willingly pay more to be tracked more effectively?
Let me guess. The state isn't telling them that they can choose to get the cheaper older style of license? Brilliant!
Aero
Re:Hold on.. (Score:5, Funny)
Does the tinfoil go shiny side in or shiny side out? You sound like an expert and I can never remember...
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I like to do shiny side in, so that it reflects my brain waves back into my head. I figure it acts like a microwave oven, amplifying its power tremendously.
Does anybody else smell bacon?
Re:Hold on.. (Score:5, Insightful)
"Citizens of New York who prefer not to carry an identifying RFID chip can still get an old-style license."
Wait a second here.. the RFID licenses are $30 more expensive than regular licenses, yet the residents have the option to get the cheaper RFID-free license? Who's going to choose to willingly pay more to be tracked more effectively? Aero
I don't know, maybe people who travel to and from Canada on a frequent basis who don't want to have to remember their passport?
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I will.
It's either this or go through the trouble of getting a $100 passport and renewing it every few years... and risk forgetting it when I go on a trip.
If all I need is my license, and it's 1/3 the price of the passport, I'm all over it.
who will? plenty Re:Hold on.. (Score:3, Informative)
the residents have the option to get the cheaper RFID-free license? Who's going to choose to willingly pay more
Many people forget how many cities in Upstate New York are close to the border. I cross the border on average 2-3 times per year by car myself. Currently I have to carry my passport to get back in - if I could go back to just carrying my driver's license, I would be much happier. Loosing a driver's license is a pretty minor expense in comparison to loosing a passport - and driver's licenses are generally replaced quite quickly here in NY state.
Re:who will? plenty Re:Hold on.. (Score:5, Informative)
Loosing a driver's license is a pretty minor expense in comparison to loosing a passport - and driver's licenses are generally replaced quite quickly here in NY state.
It's true! Loose passports sink ships. Or something like that. So remember to tighten your passports, folks!
Passport Card (Score:5, Informative)
Resume clubbing in Canada (Score:2, Insightful)
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I blame Canada.
There, fixed that for you.
Just an ID? There's a DB somewhere... (Score:2)
So if the card has just and ID on it, that means that there is a database somewhere that contains all of your personal info, not a big shocker. But the ID is usable at every land/sea boarder access point in the US. So given nothing more than a series of numbers, a boarder patrol employee at one of those locations could pull up data on anyone at any time, with out a warrant.
Call me paranoid, but I'm not a big fan of the government having better records of my life than I do. I'm even less of a fan of that inf
Re:Just an ID? There's a DB somewhere... (Score:5, Insightful)
And since when did Canada become the enemy?? it irks me no end that I, a birth-citizen of the United States, now need a passport (or equivalent, such as this ID) to go to and from a country that when I was a kid, you just walked or drove or flew across the border and the crossing guard (if any) would smile and wave and say have a nice day. Explain to me how ME and YOU waving around a trackable ID makes the U.S. any "safer"??
As to how it makes the U.S. boundaries more like the Iron Curtain, that needs no explaining. Komrade! Your papers please!!
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And since when did Canada become the enemy??
Direct flights to Cuba... Nuf said.
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What's the difference between a border guard scanning an RFID chip in order to pull up all kinds of information on you, versus said border guard typing your name, drivers license number, and license-issuing state code into a search form to pull up said information?
This is mostly a rhetorical question, but I'd say the only difference is the amount you waste standing there as you watch the border guard hunt-and-peck your name, realize he mistyped your name, backspace-backspace-backspace, retype your name, (re
Fake IDs just became easier (Score:4, Insightful)
Considering how easy RFIDs are to fake and how much they want to automate authentication the technology will be easier to bypass than the old fashioned 3D hologram was.
People assume that just because its new then no bad guy will be able to figure it out... And that worked on Police Radios for like ten years before all the bad guys had scanners.
Security though obscurity at its worst. My 2c.
Velcome (Score:2)
No one will know (Score:2)
SELECT ssn FROM dhs.us_public WHERE dl_rfid='123456';
Not to be concerned I am sure nobody will ever be able to access that data.
No problem (Score:3, Funny)
"Popcorn 1" on the ol' nuker ought to take care of that
Businesses WILL abuse it (Score:4, Interesting)
If the card can be read without my permission, it will be. They try it now, even though it has no RFID. All it takes is cross-referencing the number to be very dangerous.
I "accidentally" damaged the barcode on my licence AND one of two digits of the printed number on the front. And for this exact reason. I will give you one of MANY real-world (actually happened to me) examples why:
I tried to return a shirt to a store s: store m: me
s: We will be glad to offer you an exchange or refund. We need to see your ID.
m: Here is my driver's license to prove I am who I say I am.
s: (looks at license and IMMEDIATELY starts keying my number into the register)
s: Oh, your number is damaged, could you please tell me the missing digits.
m: Sorry, but you need to verify who I am. I didn't give you permission to record my number into a computer.
s: But we have to have it to prove we saw your ID.
m: Um, having the number doesn't really prove anything.
s: But we have to have the number.
m: No you don't- you have to know I am who I say I am, now you know. My name matches the receipt. You do not need to record my DRIVER'S LICENSE number to return a shirt at a retail store.
s: But the license is invalid.
m: No it isn't. You can see the picture. The watermark is intact. My name and address are on the card. It is not expired. I paid money for it. I passed the required tests. I assure you, it is authentic.
s: But what if you get pulled over by the police?
m: Then I will happily tell them the number. If I refused, it would be no different than if I didn't produce my license at all. If I lied (which I would not do), they would know immediately, also.
s: Well, it is our policy, so I can't offer you a refund or exchange without the number.
Get the idea? And what happens when your "ID" is used to get into a club? Or buy alcohol or whatever? They have need to verify my age, not record my identity in some computer that can then be searched, stolen, cross-referenced, whatever. With RFID, the problem is even worse- your info could be recorded into a database without even knowing it. You will have NO control over what is done with the information or how long it is retained.
The only way to protect your privacy is ACTIVELY, it cannot be done by trusting others will do the right thing. Privacy has nothing to do with "if you have nothing to hide" and everything to do with "what MIGHT you lose".
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I think very many are afraid of the implications of errors in this tracking more than the fact that they are being tracked. I know I am.
MISINFORMATION!! (Score:3, Informative)