Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

U.S. Considers Microsoft Passport as National ID

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the baaaaad-ideas dept.

An anonymous submitter writes: "Ladies and gents, the endtimes have begun. The Seattle Times is reporting that Mark Forman, associate director of information technology at the White House (or 'America's CIO', as he bills himself) has said the feds are considering the use of Microsoft's Passport technology to ID every citizen and every business seeking access to government services online. This is about as scary as it gets." To be fair, it looks very preliminary. Read the article. So many companies have tried to assist the government in providing services over the Net... but I guess if your lobbyists are good enough, you can be heard at the top.

13 of 737 comments (clear)

  1. OK guys, for real now... by sphealey · · Score: 5, Informative
    If this bothers you (and to me it is VERY disturbing), please put pen to paper and write your Congresspersons expressing in firm, polite language why you oppose this idea. Please.

    sPh

    1. Re:OK guys, for real now... by misfit13b · · Score: 5, Informative

      Click here for contact info.

    2. Re:OK guys, for real now... by FortKnox · · Score: 4, Informative

      When doing so make sure you put your address in your signature (and make sure its YOUR rep)! That ensures them that you are one of their constituents, not just a random person somewhere in america.

      Quickest way to get their attention is for them to know that they are YOUR representative!

      --
      Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    3. Re:OK guys, for real now... by bjtuna · · Score: 3, Informative

      Mark Forman is not an elected official; he is appointed.

      Interestingly enough, none of the people who prosecuted the Microsoft case (the DOJ) are elected either.

      --
      Intercarve Networks, LLC
    4. Re:OK guys, for real now... by revscat · · Score: 5, Informative

      It's fairly well known now that email is mostly ignored by Congresscritters. They can't tell for sure if the email is coming from one of their constituents, it's too easy to do, and they get too many of them. Faxes are better, stamped snail mail is best.

      Actually cold hard cash is best, but we're talking above the table methods here.

    5. Re:OK guys, for real now... by daviddennis · · Score: 5, Informative
      From what I've heard ...
      • Be civil. Nobody likes to hear flaming, and your representative will almost certainly toss flames in the trash.

      • Be brief. These are busy people you're writing to. Heck, even the person hired to read your letter is a busy person, since he gets whole sacks of these things.

      • Don't use someone else's words. It's easy to rely on others to write letters for you. But the more identical letters they receive, the more likely it is that they'll feel this is an organized lobbying campaign instead of something from the grass roots. You want people to think your letter is genuine, so proceed accordingly. A relatively small number of sincere, well-written, DISTINCT letters are going to be as effective as hundreds of identical screeds.

      • Proofread. This should go without saying, but, judging by what I see on Slashdot, many of us have lost the habit.

      • Write a paper letter. They know how easy it is to bat out an email, so they don't give them much weight. In any event, nobody has time to wade through the millions of emails they get, so they sit unread.

      • You may even want to hand write it instead of using a computer. That will make it more of a novelty, and it will be obvious you are /really/ willing to put in an effort. Perhaps "I have to write in longhand so Microsoft's goons won't get me if I do it in Word their spies in Redmond will get it." Okay, that was a joke, but you get the idea.

      For this issue specifically, it might be worth checking out how controversial Microsoft Government has been elsewhere. If you want an idea of what this is going to look like, check out this article in The Register (UK). You may also want to do a few more searches over there since there's lots of meaty material.

      Hope that helps.

      D

  2. Re:That's it! by winse · · Score: 3, Informative

    not me. I'd rather fight the good fight here than freeze the rest of my life. Several loud people can arrange the future for the silent millions.

    --
    this sig is deprecated
  3. Read. The. Article by Karen_Frito · · Score: 4, Informative

    I swear to -god- my five year old has better reading comprension than some of you people.

    The article mentions that is is for online services three times.

    Quotes, with revelant words bolded for those of you who haven't finished 5th grade English yet.

    "Microsoft's Passport is being considered as a way to authenticate users of the Web sites, said Mark Forman, associate director of information technology at the White House."

    "The White House is instead pursuing an "e-identification" initiative, an effort to develop ways to authenticate people and businesses online who already have government identification numbers such as Social Security, business-registration and employer-identification numbers. "

    "At the government-leaders conference, attended by representatives of 75 countries, Microsoft presented a blueprint for its "e-government" strategy that suggests they use Passport to verify the identity of visitors to their Web sites. It also suggested that its bCentral business Web site could be used to process business tax payments and that citizens could use its MSN Web site to handle address changes and voter registration"

    ---

    Yes, its an amazingly laughable idea -- but its not the Big Brother in cahoots with Evil Bill Gates to steal all our privacy that the orignal poster makes it out to be.

    --

    http://quiz.ravenblack.net/blood.pl?3357354385
  4. Re:Um by Drizzten · · Score: 5, Informative
    Take a look around FirstGov and realize the wealth of information available on federal government websites. I visit several of them on a weekly basis for statistics and data that I can't get elsewhere. Putting some sort of chancy identity authentication scheme in the way of accessing these sites freely would most certainly affect my browsing there. I worry about this because:
    ...the government plans to begin testing Web sites where businesses can pay taxes and citizens can learn about benefits and social services
    My emphasis. It bothers me they want to restrict our free access to this information.
    --

    "All mankind is at the mercy of a handful of neurotics". - Norman Douglas
  5. Some information by LordNimon · · Score: 3, Informative
    Mark Forman is the "Associate Director for Information Technology and E-Government" at the Office of Management and Budget. There's a press release announcing his appointment. His boss is apparently Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. Could someone confirm that for me? I haven't been able to find an address, but Mr. Forman's phone number is 202-395-1148.

    If you're going to write, you should write Mr. Forman and his boss, in addition to your Congresscritters. Be sure to mention that by requiring Passport, the government is effectively forcing its citizens to use Microsoft's technology in order to access the public information. What happens if MS decides to start charging for Passport use? Will citizens then have to pay Microsoft to access public information? This is especially disturbing considering that the government is currently in ligitation against MS. I think part of the problem is that some government departments think it doesn't matter if some OTHER government department is in ligitation with MS. Make sure the people you write understand that you don't make that distinction. Try to equate MS with Enron, by asking if they would be so quick to adopt any of Enron products. After all, both companies used donations to affect policy, both companies have broken the law, and both companies are under investigation by the DOJ.

    --
    And the men who hold high places must be the ones who start
    To mold a new reality... closer to the heart
  6. How to participate in a representative government by vrmlguy · · Score: 3, Informative
    1. Go here and get your ZIP+4 code.
    2. Go here and identify your Congressperson.
    3. When you click on the "Contact My Representative" button, you will be taken to a form. Ignore it. Instead, click on the link for your Representative and go to their homepage. Hopefully, they will have contact information someplace where you can find it. Copy it into your favorite word-processor.
    4. Go here and identify your Senators. Again, we hope that they make it easy to find their contact information.
    5. If you are thinking ahead, save three "empty" letters, addressed to each of the above. This will save time the next time you need to write.
    6. Use your word processor to write an essay explaining your position. Be verbose. Copy this into each of the three letters you prepared above.
    7. If you found any fax numbers (and your computer can print-to-fax!) send copies of your letter that way. Otherwise, print it out and send it by regular mail.
    --
    Nothing for 6-digit uids?
  7. Re:so, instead... by Steveftoth · · Score: 3, Informative

    Not a passwd file, SHADOW passwords.... they are so much more secure....

  8. Re:OK, take a deep breath... by Sc00ter · · Score: 3, Informative

    What?! Hotmail requires a passport account, and you can get to that on linux.. Passport is for web authentication and has nothing to do with the OS the user is running.

    --
    Free Mac Mini