Cyphernomicon Top
Cyphernomicon 11.12

Surveillance, Privacy, And Intelligence Agencies:
National ID Systems


  11.12.1. "National ID cards are just the driver's licenses on the
            Information Superhighway." [unknown...may have been my
            coining]
  11.12.2. "What's the concern?"
  11.12.3. Insurance and National Health Care will Produce the "National
            ID" that will be Nearly Unescapable
           - hospitals and doctors will have to have the card...cash
              payments will  evoke suspicion and may not even be feasible
  11.12.4. National ID Card Arguments
           - "worker's permit" (another proposal, 1994-08, that would
              call for a national card authorizing work permission)
           - immigration, benefit
           - possible tie-in to the system being proposed by the US
              Postal Service: a registry of public keys (will they also
              "issue" the private-public key pair?)
           - software key escrow and related ideas
           - "I doubt that one would only have to "flash" your card and
              be on your way.  More correctly, one would have to submit
              to being "scanned" and be on your way.   This would also
              serve to be a convienient locator tag if installed in the
              toll systems and miscellaneous "security checkpoints".  Why
              would anyone with nothing to hide care if your every move
              could be monitored?  Its for your own good, right?  Pretty
              soon sliding your ID into slots in everyplace you go will
              be common." [Korac MacArthur, comp.org.eff.talk, 1994-07-
              25]
  11.12.5. "What are some concerns about Universal ID Cards?"
           - "Papierren, bitte! Schnell!
           - that they would allow traceability to the max (as folks
              used to say)... tracking of movements, erosion of privacy
           - that they would be required to be used for banking
              transactions, Net access, etc. (As usual, there may be
              workarounds, hacks, ...)
           - "is-a-person" credentially, where government gets involved
              in the issuance of cryptographic keys (a la the USPS
              proposal), where only "approved uses" are allowed, etc.
           - timestamps, credentials
  11.12.6. Postal Service trial balloon for national ID card
           - "While it is true that they share technology, their intent
              and purpose is very different.  Chaum's proposal has as its
              intent  and purpose to provide and protect anonymity in
              financial transactions.  The intent and purpose of the US
              Postal Service is to identify and authenticate you to the
              government and to guarantee the traceability of all
              financial transactions." [WHMurray, alt.privacy, 1994-07-
              04]
  11.12.7. Scenario for introduction of national ID cards
           - Imagine that vehicle registrations require presentation of
              this card (gotta get those illegals out of their cars, or,
              more benignly, the bureaucracy simply makes the ID cars
              part of their process).
           - Instantly this makes those who refuse to get an ID card
              unable to get valid license tags. (Enforcement is already
              pretty good....I was pulled over a couple of times for
              either forgetting to put my new stickers on, or for driving
              with Oregon expired tags.)
           + The "National Benefits Card," for example, is then required
              to get license plate tags.and maybe other things, like car
              and home insurance, etc. It would be very difficult to
              fight such a card, as one could not drive, could not pay
              taxes ("Awhh!" I hear you say, but consider the penalties,
              the tie-ins with employers, etc. You can run but you can't
              hide.)
             - the national ID card would presumably be tied in to
                income tax filings, in various ways I won't go into here.
                The Postal Service, aiming to get into this area I guess,
                has floated the idea of electronic filing, ID systems,
                etc.
  11.12.8. Comments on national ID cards
           - That some people will be able to skirt the system, or that
              the system will ultimately be unenforceable, does not
              lessen the concern. Things can get real tough in the
              meantime.
           - I see great dangers here, in tying a national ID card to
              transactions we are essentially unable to avoid in this
              society: driving, insurance (and let's not argue
              insurance...I mean it is unavoidable in the sense of legal
              issues, torts, etc.), border crossings, etc. Now how will
              one file taxes without such a card if one is made mandatory
              for interactions with the government? Saying "taxes are not
              collectable" is not an adequate answer. They may not be
              collectible for street punks and others who inhabit the
              underground economy, but they sure are for most of us.


Next Page: 11.13 National Health Care System Issues
Previous Page: 11.11 Privacy Laws

By Tim May, see README

HTML by Jonathan Rochkind