By Nick Heath, 15 April 2009 15:31
NEWS
S is for Selling the cards
Since the cards are not compulsory the government hopes to instead stimulate take-up by allowing the cards to be used for everything from claiming benefits, to opening bank accounts.
But it is looking increasingly doubtful whether the cards could find a wider use, with UK payments association Apacs claiming the security features that would have made the cards useful for checking identity in large money transfers and online transactions have been stripped from the scheme.
To counter some of these criticisms over the usefulness of the card chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service James Hall recently suggested that chip and PIN functionality could be added to the cards.
The current form of providing someone's identity is to check the individual against a document - such as a utility bill.
But the IPS argues that there are a number of problems with this: utility bills can easily be altered or forged, and criminals can steal documents and use them to assume other identities. ID cards will provide a much stronger form of identity authentication, the government insists.
Comments
There are 9 comments. Join the discussion
1. anonymous
Horatio Nelson to Captain Hardy; 'How can a man in my condition qualify for one of these ID cards given that my biometric information is going to be incomplete?'
Hardy; 'To bad My Lord, you will not be eligible for one of these cards.'
Nelson; 'Right Hardy, if that's how they wan't it I'll go and fight for the French! Will you come with me?'
Hardy; 'Yes, My Lord.'
2. galley slave#41
SOMEONE IS GOING TO MAKE BIG MONEY OUT OF THIS!
AND YOU WILL ALL BE JOINING ME IN THE GALLEY.
BORN FREE HA! HA!
SLAVES EVERYONE!
3. Dick Vinegar
Your definition of Xenophobia is wrong. Xen... is not bothering to find out why 22 countries (400 million people) in the EU are happy with ID cards, and are not slipping into slavery.
Xen.. is having the Little British arrogance and insularity not to ask their advice about what works and what doesn't in e-ID. They have the experience. We don't.
4. anonymous
T is also for Trust. All security systems will boil down to one or more trust relationships. I have yet to see the Trust relationship definition for ID cards and how it will be managed.
You can forget me trusting ID cards until this issue is resolved.
5. Radical Meldrew
Mr Vinegar-Sarson should take care in advocating the introduction of ID cards. Whilst the basic concept is fine, we have to consider the insidious way governments retain vast amounts of data unnecessarily to just maintain the illusion of having control. Our current regime is a prime example of this, they lost the plot completely years ago but still maintain their sad pretence of being dependable! They ain't worth a carrot, that's the whole lot of 'em, whatever the party.
The irony of the ID scheme is that it will greatly assist in tracking the lawful whilst the criminal undercurrent, including illegal immigrants and terrorists, will probably remain well below the radar by their various means. ID card checks will be visual examination only until card readers are extensively (and very expensively) installed and linked to a central database - so they will be no more useful than a current passport or driving licence for quite some time to come.
I for one am deeply opposed to any form of government control-freakery, after all, this is still a democracy so they have a moral obligation to listen to the majority? Ha, no chance there!
I can easily imagine the day when new legislation is passed allowing the police to abruptly demand 'identification please' - Sad times we live in.
6. karen challinor
also in response to Mr Vinegar
400 million people in europe may carry ID cards and be ok with the idea but these id cards don't have an equivalent of the NIR backing them up and logging every time they get used or referred to, nor have they had to submit fingerprints or other biometrics ... well apart from a signature and photograph to get them not have they had to part with their life history
so I agree we haven't learned what works from the models currently in existence
7. misceng
Even the police can't keep data secure. If this can happen, think about access to the database by unvetted bank clerks, insurance agents and anyone who can get employment in these sorts of organisations.
8. Richard Davies
We're not sleep walking into anything. This stupid government are dragging UK Citizens that way against their will and simply ignoring people / organisations they shouldn't, such as the LSE etc.
No one is asking for all this to be done...the government are simply railroading their 'big idea' through even though its now so watered down its not even worth the paper the proposal is written on.
Massive Cost to tax payer and a few foreign nationals will have one! Great!
I hate the way government officials never answer your question and cleverly skirt around it...this basically means they are full of crap!
9. Adrian Tawse
Under NIR I think it would be helpful to list just all the items of nformation that will be stored. If just a small number of Civil Servamnts will have access to thjis then just why does this small number need all this information?