Slashdot Mirror
Feds To Have Unified Biometric Federal ID System
An anonymous submitter writes "There have been rumors flying among the scientific community about a proposed standard for 'Personal Identity Verification' by the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST). According to the standard, all federal employees and contractors would require a 'PIV "card" that is "personalized" with data needed by the PIV system to later grant access to the subscriber to Federal facilities and information systems.' Besides the likely efficacy questions, concerns in the scientific community concern what impact this will have on our foreign collaborations (or even grad students)."
Requiring clear identification of all federal employees is acceptable at this juncture in time. Banning Islamic foreign students and Chinese students (including those from Taiwan province and Hong Kong) from federally funded projects at American universities is also acceptable.
This is a fantastic idea --- for Canada and Europe. The USA built its strength by taking the best and brightest students from around the world. If you ban them from all federally funded projects, they'll go elsewhere, for our gain and your loss. We're already seeing this as your increased paranoia makes Canada a more attractive place to study.
Keep up the good work! We really appreciate it!
Not for national ID's, in any way, in any form. It'll be just for federal workers-for right now.
When the Social Security Act was put into place, those who were concerned that the Social Security number would become some type of nationalized tracking system were ridiculed and called paranoid. They even wrote it into the Social Security Act that the number couldn't be used for any tracking purpose other than to determine who gets SS benefits.
Nothing to worry about here, it's easy to see just how well THAT worked. I mean, there were even people who said that you wouldn't even be able to get a job or a driver's license without a social security #. What a bunch of paranoid freaks! That certainly never did happen.
To fight the war on terror, stop being afraid.
As it currently stands, the concept of an ID "card" isn't too radically different from a photo ID--the human face is a fundamentally unique and wholly recognizable factor, and this would just be incorporating more data to form a more accurate and complete picture (don't get me wrong, I feel that this step is unnecessary and can lead to tremendous potential for abuse. It's the first step down a slippery slope towards ever less privacy). But what's especially worrying is the potential for wireless biometric ID systems. You have on the one hand Big Brother constantly able to keep tabs on you, anywhere (whereas with a card you can just refuse to patronize places requiring it's use and, again, it's not a huge departure from a driver's license), which will inevitably lead to tighter and tighter control just because the government can, though naturally hyped-up concerns like terrorism or sedition will be used as justification. Or perhaps even worse for joe average would be the potential for targeted advertising. Remember in "minority report" where Tom Cruise walks into a store only to have personalozed advertisements fly at him based on his biometric ID and past buying records? This currenttrial might actually as it stands have some legitimate applications (I certinaly, for instance, want access to nuclear facilities to be as secure as possible), but it's our responsibility not to let it become ubiquitous and especially not wireless, in which case privacy as we know it could essentially ceased to exist.
This is an "antiterrorist meaning anticonstitution" threat with little in common with our existing photo ID's, and here's why:
American photo ID's are not currently computer readable. There's no national standard other than passports, which don't lend themselves to this purpose. PIV would allow the government to set up a card reader in front of any building, lab, or computer system, and block anybody without a valid card.
Now the government can apply all the wonders of modern technology to track every movement and activity of anybody in their system with an ID card. That's fine in top secret military labs, but "all federal employees and contractors" includes a lot of civilians and low-level people just trying to get their jobs done in the face of stupid policies. Many slashdotters who work on ordinary, civilian things for companies with government contracts would be required to sign up. Now, just to do an ordinary civilian job, you'll be tracked so heavily 5 guys in CIA headquarters are thinking about your breathing. Just think about your breathing-you have to constantly inhale and exhale to avoid suffocating. Now the government will know all about it!
That means Alice the undergrad researcher can't even access the computer system the lab runs on without dragging the boss over to log her in. Which will be impossible on the weekends or at night.
If you're a foreign researcher or student, photo ID includes the passport from your country of origin.
PIV requires going to wherever they give these out, supplying an array of biometric information, submitting to yet another background check, etc. You can't start working until all these additional bureaucratic hoops have been jumped through, and if your card is ever lost or damaged, you're going to be in for one hell of an interrogation to prove you're not up to something. And, of course, if these PIV guys decline your application, you're screwed. Government policies are already driving away foreign students and scientists. Why are we bringing in low cost foreign labor to undercut Americans while driving away the highly educated foreigners who actually have something to contribute?
And God forbid you actually try to collaborate with anyone who isn't in the US. No PIV? No access to the computer system! Passing restricted materials to your fellow researchers overseas? Working around PIV makes you a criminal. You terrorist!
Once all government systems have been locked down with PIV, and hundreds of thousands of ordinary civilians working for government contractors have been PIV'ed and depend on PIV for their jobs, the government will be well on its way towards rolling out a national computerized ID card system.
Ask yourselves: In SOVIET RUSSIA, would the party force PIV on YOU?!?
The answer is yes. Is America no different?
For Christ's sake! Obviously, you're paranoid! Get a grip! Your mainland is not under attack!
Here's a question for you. Since 9/11 how many people died from terrorist attacks? And how many died from car accident? How can you value freedom so little that you're willing to give up any rights you have just to feel a bit safer.
If you're a foreign researcher or student, photo ID includes the passport from your country of origin. PIV requires going to wherever they give these out, supplying an array of biometric information, submitting to yet another background check, etc.
This bites. I am a Canadian graduate student and my group collaborates with a DoE lab in the United States. Already, this lab has had problems with foreign collaborators who are not from Canada, Europe or Australia being denied entry to the country. This lab has already lost some of its top people due to Homeland Security kicking them out (i.e. not renewing their visas). Furthermore, they have had problems bringing in collaborators with unique expertise required to upgrade laboratory equipment.
Our Canadian group sends undergraduate and graduate students to this lab to gain experience through our collaboration. We have a large stake in this lab, and have a lot of equipment there. If we can't send our undergraduates and master's students, because of the long wait times to go through the background check, then what is the point of collaborating with the US? We'll have to pack up our equipment and send it to our collaborators in Germany or Sweden.
Long live Schrodinger's cat...
Now, let me repeat that . Let me get this straight. You really want to ID university students in a university environment. Hmm. Some chance that'll work. Point 1): they will break it in 5 minutes. This is the nature of universities - we ask the students to be imaginative and creative and they do this on steroids...
Point 2): Universities are inherently slightly subversive and anarchistic. We value them precisely for this (it's how good new ideas get spawned). You want to check badges? Get a life.
No. If you really want to waste your money in a rational way you should listen to how a lot of students play red vs. blue in their spare time.
We did it even in Bristol UK c.a. 1980 (and I predicted something like the japanese nerve gas thing on the basis of the limited info we had 15 years early). (To be honest I was scared that the IRA would do it, and thankfully they didn't).
So, all of you spooks out there wake up and listen. Universities are your best friends, not your worst enemies... So, teacher (always wanted to say this) leave those kids alone...
A few years ago I was working on a NASA project - nothing secret. We had a Canadian summer student come and work for us on a small job (writing some code to control some optics). As a foreign national he had to get clearance, but he was allowed to start working on writing some code for the project while we waited. Six weeks later his application was rejected and he was no longer allowed to touch any of our computers, or look at any code, including the code he'd written himself. Now he works for a European project doing the same sort of stuff, and I know they are very happy to have him. Stupid, short-sighted xenophobic policies like that do nothing but hurt this country.
I think the problem with this kind of stuff is that it's the people who are valuable, not the ideas. Policies that try to lock down ideas just drive away good people.
Why do we Americans always seem to assume that we're somehow that much smarter than everyone else, and if we keep our research secret then the Chinese, or Indians, or God forbid, the Canadians won't figure it out on their own? Somehow we have a situation where the security folks (who it seems are all all-American white boys from Texas) write policies to prevent the scientists (who are to a surprising extent foreign immigrants) from actually getting anything done. Of course, in the end, it's the scientists who come up with the technology to keep the secirity guys (and their families) safe. That's just too complicated for these dumb white boys to grasp, I guess.
When it comes to basic research, it's amazing how even seemingly trivial impediments to access and communication can utterly inhibit progress. Sure, it's only a biometric card, but the additional hassle will mean that you are that much less likely to hire say, that Polish kid who just happens to actually have a good education in math. Given that U.S. high schools just aren't producing kids that know math, that's a real problem. And yes, I know I do most of my useful work late at night and on weekends, so inhibiting access on non-standard hours is a real pain.
My most fundamental objection to all this though, is simply that I don't WANT to live in a society where Big Brother constantly monitors my every move, knows what my retina looks like, keeps track of who I meet and what I read, what I say, and how I spend my money. I understand that access control to military research might be needed, and that's why I don't do military work. But when they want civilian researchers (like NASA) to follow suit, then I don't have any choice. And I hate that.
Human genome = 3 billion base pairs = 6 GBit. Windows + Office = 20 Gbit. Which is more impressive?