By Steve Ranger, 17 May 2006 16:10
NEWS
Organised crime will try and crack the identity cards database - the National Identity Register (NIR) - the Liberal Democrats have warned.
Last year it was revealed that the identities of 13,000 civil servants had been stolen and used by criminals to make fake tax credit claims.
Liberal Democrat home affairs spokesman, Nick Clegg, said the theft was a "terrible omen" for the forthcoming ID cards scheme.
Clegg said, if organised criminals are capable of infiltrating the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), "it is clear they will target the identity cards database where the stakes are even higher".
Clegg said in a statement: "The government's claims that ID cards will cut identity fraud look increasingly unrealistic. If the ID cards database is breached, people could find their iris scans and fingerprints - as well as personal data and national insurance numbers - stolen."
He said the government must urgently review how the DWP thefts happened and whether it will be possible to secure the NIR against similar attacks.
Yesterday it was reported in The Times that more than 300,000 foreigners are given national insurance numbers every year with few checks on their status.
Read silicon.com's A to Z of ID cards for the lowdown on this controversial project.
Comments
There are 6 comments. Join the discussion
1. Graham Coles
So what's new?
Ill thought out, riddled with privacy and security problems, forced on an unwanting population, relying on dubious technology, backed by lies and probably produced vastly overbudget, not on time and failing to do anything that was claimed of it.
Sounds pretty much what we've come to expect from a government IT project.
2. Richard Davies
With the high stakes involved, would the government admit to such a breach...When ATM's were first de-frauded, it took banks along time to actually admit that it was possible and actually happening.
If they don't admit to breaches, could innocent people be jailed as searches of DNA etc. from crime scenes and the like is made to bring up innocent peoples details to hide the real criminals?
3. Charles Clarke
Well it seems to me the best thing to do is get a RETURn ticket on Euro Star.
Go abroad .. burn all your ID cards .. Come back with a "iffy" Euro ID card and dissappear.
Great No ID, NO Tax to pay, free everything... they will never find you
Trust me I KNOW !!!
4. galley slave#41
What do you mean WILL ATTACK! They all ready have. data is far easier than cash or gold to move across borders and crooks will take advantage of that fact. and what they can't steal they will corrupt.
5. Steve Watkins
Well... the headlines write themselves.
Q. How many breaches have there been in the National Identity database Mr. Roberts?
A. I haven't the faintest idea.
Q. How many occurrences have there been of identity theft?
A. I don't have that figure.
Q. How many duplicate identities have been stored in the dtabase?
A. I don't have that information.
Can we seriously expect a department like the Home Office (aka the Ministry of the Interior) to be able to implement a complex system like ID cards?
6. Karen Challinor
organised crime will attack the NIR
well DUH!
the only people who don't see this as a problem are the ones foisting this scheme on us and making us pay for it