New York Issues RFID-Encoded Drivers Licenses

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.

Comments

optional for how long?

[ruggerboy]

Reminds me of how several years ago blackberries used to be "optional" for associates at my law firm, and there was even a waitlist. That is until partners realized just how effective they were at keeping tabs on exactly where we were and what we were doing at all hours. Now they come standard issue with your welcome packet. Expect the same for new drivers pretty soon.

Meaningless?

[einer]

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.

Meaningless?

[McGregorMortis]

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?

A constant ID# is NOT meaningless...

[nweaver]

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.

Re:Residents, not citizens

[plague3106]

Actually they are; they yield only a portion of their sovereignty to the Federal government to keep the British at bay.

Sure, you can refuse, but.....

[Stanislav_J]

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..

[aero2600-5]

"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..

[DerekLyons]

Does the tinfoil go shiny side in or shiny side out? You sound like an expert and I can never remember...

Re:Hold on..

[Attila Dimedici]

"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?

Passport Card

[Rob the Bold]

I applied for a new passport this Summer, and it sounds like the new New York DL just includes a "Passport Card" in it. They're both for surface entry of the US from North American and Caribbean countries. The additional DL fee is $30, but a new Passport Card is $45, $20 if you already have a passport book. As such, privacy concerns would be exactly the same as with a new Passport or Passport Card.

Re:Not by air?

[swimin]

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.

You'd be Wrong

[mpapet]

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.

Re:You'd be Wrong

[Cajun Hell]

And what exactly will they discover? Some long string of bytes that's all.

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.

You watch too many movies where these bytes lead to some impossible story progression.

That would be Minority Report.

Re:You'd be Wrong

[tomz16]

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

[ben2umbc]

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:

• video cameras or other form of biometrics sensing technology
• RFID
• and your frequent shopper or credit card

to

• identify you when you walk into the store
• know your past purchases
• items you may have picked up and looked at but did not purchase
• and know whether you prefer regular or low fat

It may be possible already, if not, then soon.

Re:You'd be Wrong

[dave562]

I hate to undo moderation, but the obviousness of this seems necessary to comment on. We're moving toward a police state and the infrastructure needs to be in place to facilitate it. Magstripes need to be passed through a reader and you can only scan people one at a time. If everyone has an RFID chip, you can scan a whole area at a time. Think holding pens and you're getting close. Think crowds at stadiums or other public venues. It's already illegal (at least in California) to not carry a drivers license with you. I imagine within ten years the police will have scanners on their cars so that during traffic stops they can more easily determine the occupants of a vehicle that they pull over.

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.

You are already being tracked

[mpapet]

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.

Re:Not by air?

[Rob the Bold]

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.

Re:Just an ID? There's a DB somewhere...

[Reziac]

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!!

Re:who will? plenty Re:Hold on..

[commodoresloat]

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!