Estonia Tests "Contactless" ID-Cards

borkee writes "Estonian MEAC and CMB start testing a new version of a national ID card containing what they call 'contactless' extensions. Although they do not specifically disclose to us, taxpayers, what technology is used there, it must be quite obvious that it's nothing less than RFID. Add to this, they'll have person's biometrics in memory. (Security gurus of course know: biometrics just don't work.) Soon you can track us poor Estonians by our GSM phones and by our ID cards too!"

Comments

Info on Biometrics not being safe ?

[acebone]

Where can I read about biometrics not being safe ?

That's very interesting, and I've never heard about it before. I mean surely the pattern in your eyes and your fingerprints are unique and does not change, no ?

Mmmm... Possibilities :)

[Anonymous Coward]

I dont't think, it's too hard to format this lil' pecker and rewrite the data, when the specific card readers/writers become aviable. Since it's contactless, U don't have to show the real pic on the card anyway.

And about this GSM-tracking? I'd like to whack that bastard who came up with the idea to bring this to the public. It's pretty dawm hard to give your girlfriend impression you're doing overtime @work, when your phone puts you in the strip-club.

GSM-LocatorSimple.

Re:Broken

[Beautyon]

is a system that relies on a mix of documents that you choose to provide, and not something provided to you by the state, no matter how cool it is.

Estonians, dont whine about ID cards; do what the Australians did and refuse to carry them at all.

Your government will withdraw the scheme. Guaranteed.

Re:so ?

[DZign]

I'm also from Belgium so therefor my question too.

I guess we're used to having it with us always and don't find this weird.

It sometimes amazes me about all the fuzz some countries make (UK now, but otoh, UK is against just about anything new :-) when id cards are introduced,
or I sometimes just wonder how countries like the USA can even operate well without id cards or anything like that.

OK in the USA they use the social security number or driver license as id card, which gives problems with id theft because your unique key (which would be on your id card) is also used for other functions. Why not just put this unique key on your id card and only use it for identifying you ?

OK people say then want to be free and do whatever they want. Bad luck. At the same time you want to get social security, get unemployment money, drive a car, and much more, so at least prove who you are when you want to cash that check.

Having an id card and not needing to have it with you also gives the possibility for abuse.
In the end the 'good' people who don't do anything wrong aren't bothered by it, and at least it can stop mis-use by people who want to defraud the system.

Recently there was a program on tv about people in France driving without driver licenses (driver license with points, have to many violations and they revoke it), one of the guys had a friend who looked like him, so if he got stopped he said to the policeman he didn't have his papers with him, but his name was Y and then this friend would go to the police station to say he did the offence.
Duh.. At least these kind of things could be stopped if you needed to have your papers with you all the time.

That's only one example, I guess there are many more you can come up with in which people commit fraud by saying they're someone else.