White House Releases Trusted Internet ID Plan

angry tapir writes "From the Computerworld article: 'the U.S. government will coordinate private-sector efforts to create trusted identification systems for the Internet, with the goal of giving consumers and businesses multiple options for authenticating identity online, according to a plan released by President Barack Obama's administration.'"

Comments

Thanks, but no thanks...

[Anonymous Coward]

No way, Barry...

From TFA: "entirely voluntary"

[Anonymous Coward]

Just like a SSN.

Re:From TFA: "entirely voluntary"

[tripleevenfall]

My guess is this will go from "great, safe option" to "suggested" to "merged with your SSN and required" to "Used to search for and track 'potential domestic terrorists'".

Probably won't take too long either.

Re:From TFA: "entirely voluntary"

[darkpixel2k]

My guess is this will go from "great, safe option" to "suggested" to "merged with your SSN and required" to "Used to search for and track 'potential domestic terrorists'".

Probably won't take too long either.

How in the hell did you get rated 'Flamebait'?!? Seriously--Your Social Security Number went from being a 'social insurance' number, to your taxpayer ID, and now it's required pretty much everywhere--bank accounts, new jobs, car loans, doctors appointments, etc... ...and it started out with very strong language that it was *only* to be used for social security...

Let me guess

[calmofthestorm]

Requires Windows (tm) 7 (tm) Professional (tm) using an Intel (tm) chipset supporting a Trusted Platform Module (tm) with keys in escrow by the issuing authority.

Re:Let me guess

[iluvcapra]

After reading the document, there really aren't any system requirements, specific technology or any kind of actual implementation, all it really does is set out some goals and establish a certain vocabulary. It's utterly anodyne and will probably die before being considered because it sets out concrete goals for private companies that handle identifying data:

Limit the collection and transmission of information to the minimum necessary to fulfill the transaction’s purpose and related legal requirements;
Limit the use of the individual’s data that is collected and transmitted to specified purposes;
Be accountable for how information is actually used and provide mechanisms for compliance, audit, and verification; and
Provide effective redress mechanisms for, and advocacy on behalf of, individuals who believe their data may have been misused

Surely this is the thin end of the wedge of tyranny.

Re:Let me guess

[jd]

Since all tyrannies require those tyrranized to still be breathing, oxygen is the thin end of the wedge to tyranny. (In other words, almost anything can be dual-purposed for "good" and "evil", so almost anything can be considered the thin end of some wedge or other. It renders that entire line of reasoning pointless.)

Re:Let me guess

[hairyfeet]

Yeah well the problem with that my Euro friend is that in case you ain't notice we only have TWO parties here, the far right (dems) and extreme far rights (reps) and they want ALL our emails older than 6 months old (because you have nothing to hide, right?) want to force ACTA down the throats of the planet, never met a corporation or private contractor they didn't like cashing checks from, support one failed enterprise after another as long as the kickbacks keep rolling in...

So excuse me if I don't exactly trust these bozos with one of the last truly free forms of expression we have left,okay? Hell I wouldn't trust either party as far as I can throw their overfed corrupt asses as it is, give them even MORE they can abuse?I wonder how much MSFT and Intel can pay to make sure only the "latest and greatest" trusted computing platforms are allowed? Hell it has been the dream of Intel and MSFT since the days of the fritz Chip so excuse me if I don't exactly see this as all hearts and flowers, kay?

Hell when was the last time a politician around here did ANYTHING that he couldn't either grab more power or get his cronies fat checks for doing,hmmm?

Taxes, spying, control.

[assemblerex]

Items purchased with trusted ID: Washing machine, PS4, Glycerine, Shower tiles cleaner (flagged combo).
Taxes due on purchases $156.00. Forwarding purchase of glycerine and acid product to FBI for examination.

Typical

[Anonymous Coward]

Sounds about right for liberals. You have to have an ID to use the Internet, but not to vote.

It's not that it will fail; it's already failed

[Arrogant-Bastard]

There are, at current best estimate, at least 200 million fully-compromised systems on the Internet. That number has been monotonically increasing for most of a decade, and there is no reason to expect that trend to change. (And many reasons to expect it to continue.) Not all of those are in the US, of course, but a lot of them are. This is turn means that any credentials present on those systems are now the property of their REAL owners, not the people who mistakenly believe they own them. Which means that even if such a universal ID system was properly designed (unlikely) properly built (unlikely) and properly deployed (extremely unlikely) that its first major effect will be handing over a large number of those IDs to The Bad Guys. The second major effect will be providing major incentives to The Bad Guys to compromise more systems, as the value of such increases with both their usefulness and the value of the data stored on them. The third major effect will be providing major incentives to The Bad Guys to go after any system where these IDs are stored or used, since they now have widespread usefulness, not just localized usefulness. They will be successful some of the time, of course, and we will once again get to hear the refrain of the professional liars who call themselves "spokespeople", as they solemnly intone "Nobody could have foreseen..." I think the biggest usefulness of this scheme will be filtering: anyone supporting it is clearly marking themselves as a security imbecile, should be fired on the spot, blacklisted for life, and never permitted to speak in public again on the topic of security. That won't happen of course. They'll get bonuses. That's how we reward sufficiently grandiose failure in this society.

Re:Sadly, I trust Verified by Visa more

[vlm]

I trust VISA and my bank more than I trust my government.

In a corporatocracy or fascistic capitalist system like ours, those two have merged together. Like saying you trust your right hand more than your left hand, or your political party is more trustworthy than the other political party, or like saying the fry cook is a much better cook than the burger flipper cook at your local mcdonalds. So that statement logically simplifies to ... nothing.

Re:Public-private partnerships

[Curunir_wolf]

Because nobody is going to force you to use a bank, shop on-line, or send email that will actually make it to somebody else's inbox. Sorry about all those on-line government services that you won't be able to use. You can always hike to one of the brick-and-mortar offices and present your papers in person.

Freedom isn't free. If you really want to live a life unfettered by a verifiable identity, that choice has real consequences for the sort of lifestyle you can enjoy, the sort of trust others will be willing to grant you, and the sort of financial transactions people will be willing to make with you.

I currently have a verifiable identity that I can use to do all of those things. And I don't have to be "coordinated" with some government bureaucracy in order to do it.

This isn't about solving a problem, it's about gaining more power and control for the central authorities and global corporations. It's really very transparent. There are much better ways to deal with identity theft than a draconian central planning scheme dreamed up by fascist partnerships.