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Feds Start Small on Smart IDs
jcatcw writes "Some government employees will be getting smart ID cards beginning this week. The unfunded mandate to have all employees and contractors use Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards is part of Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12. The U.S. General Services Administration is providing enrollment centers that can verify the identities of employees, fingerprint and photograph the workers, and issue PIV cards to them. The deadline for getting cards to all employees and contractors is the end of September 2008."
I agree with this and hoped that these would be smart cards as we currently use in the uk for bank cards (contact based connection to an embedded chip), but alas, they are using a multifunction card with RFID built in.
They are leaving it open for additional uses later.
The DHS is using ID One Cosmo smart cards made by Nanterre, France-based Oberthur Card Systems SA. Like all PIV cards, Oberthur's feature both a contact interface, such as a magnetic stripe, and a contactless radio frequency interface to make it easier to integrate the cards with both building access and IT security systems. At the DHS, though, the cards initially will be used only for physical access, Orluskie said.
liqbase
I'm DoD and got my mandated Common Access Card over a year ago. We PKI enabled almost everything. Besides a few inevitable rollout inconveniences (ran out of blanks once, way more people forgot their PINs than they expected, end user training and confusion) it was actually a VERY smooth transition. I'm glad they did it, I honestly think we are more secure because of it (server side, not client side)
You deploy them first to government employees, desensitize the public to them, then roll them out to the entire nation. Note they said "and contractors". Contractors are civilians.
We already have a National ID system, through various coordinated data through Drivers Licences, tax filings, SSN cards, Credit Cards, Voter Registration, and the like. Mainly Drivers Licences. Have you tried to get one renewed in the last 4 years? They require your fingerprint, even though you are not a criminal. Once they get your fingerprint, or DNA, or both, they pwn you.
The NAZIs implimented their campaign of extermination of the Jews in the same method. First you go after a subset, not rocking the boat, and then you after another, and expand your campaign and momentum as you meet little or no resistance along the way. Once most of the population has become desensitized to the idea, and it becomes commonplace to arrest Jews and ship them off, nobody cares anymore. Its the same with Drivers Licnences. They did it gradually... and nobody is pissed about being fingerprinted like a criminal now and having all your vital information stored with your fingerprint and picture in an FBI database.
Nice analogy - basically you've just restated what you said before. How are you answering my question about why I should be alarmed? You are just raising an alarm for no reason - that makes you just as bad as the "other side"... using fear to get what one wants.
W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
I work for the Dept of Veteran Affairs. The only change that happened (about 2 weeks ago) was the replacement of my picture id card and a hid card (rfid) with a single picture id card and rfid card combo. The only news here is that the government is making it harder for federal employees to loose their card. Now we only have one card instead of two. In addition to having an rfid card, we also have a 6-8+ digit number that we need to type into a keypad to get into more secure areas (data center, pbx room, etc). On top of all of that, you pass by about 5 or 6 cameras (that are positioned to be nearly impossible to avoid) to get anywhere near the areas in question. Finally, you'd have to have some sort of inside knowlege of the layout of the building, as all of the secured areas look less important than a dirty janitor's closet from the outside. It's not some conspiracy, it's just the government protecting people's info. I doubt any Veteran would appreciate someone stealing their personal info (as was proved recently with the laptop thing).
Let me start by saying: I am working on the NIST PKCS11 implementation (it will be public domain). THE PD12 is meant to unify identification and processing of government employees. So that you don't end up with several badges with different pictures and fingers prints, from numerous agencies. It's a simplification process and one that's long overdue. I am no bush fan, but people are barking up the wrong tree here. As far as national id cards go, it's just a matter of time. I see resonance here that might label me a troll but I will say it just the same: The slashdot crowd loves to howl about how the RIAA/MPAA is clinging to old and dying bussiness models when they should embrace new ones and stop fighting the inevitable. I completely agree. I also see that the slashdot crowd has a tendency to cling to the more anonymous days before national id's and smart cards. Come to grips with the fact that it will become harder and harder to fake your identity (as it should be) and learn to embrace it. Did anyone ever think that smart cards could come damn close to wiping out identity theft (if used correctly)? Why should I have to get a different drivers license for a new state? Did I forget how to drive? Am I a different person now that I moved? A national id can put an end to the hodge-podge nature of governing in this enormous country. Now, I have always said that "Everyone has something to hide" and I still hold to that for those who say they don't. Don't forget though: Your smart card can encrypt everything you do online and depending on the encryption used, can't be cracked in our lifetime. It is for this very reason that the NSA and FBI desperately attempted (and still do) to prevent the export of RSA encryption abroad -- classifying it as a munition on the same scale as a nuclear weapon. Slashdot is definately a democratic leaning site: It was Bill Clinton who wanted a "clipper chip" back door (read the book Crypto). And, if you want a secret identity, your smart card can support multiple identities. You can have an alternative that only you and your friends in a web-of-trust know about and accept. In real-life I am XXX but on slashdot I am sideswipe76. Freedom of speech has never meant freedom from all consequences of that speech. Look at Martin Luther King -- the man excercised his freedom of speech and brought revolution to the US against the wishes of many of those high-up in government. He also paid with his life not to the government but to James Earl Ray.