UK Gov't Promises IDs Are Absolutely Un-Forgeable... Maybe
from the speaking-in-absolutes dept
You should generally be careful when using "absolutes" (or should I say, you should always be careful in using absolutes?). Over in the UK, where they're introducing a new national ID card, the former head of of MI5 has said any attempt to forge the cards would be "absolutely useless." That's an absolute (and fairly bold) statement -- and one likely to attract certain types of folks to take up the challenge. Of course, he's only talking about if the card is run through a computer system. If you're just flashing the card, then forgeries might be able to get by... but it'll be difficult: "significantly reduce the viability of creating counterfeit or modified cards for simple visual verification." Either way, pretty bold statements for something that may be tough to actually provide. Update: On second thought... no. I messed up this post in a big way. The MI5 comment was that the cards would become useless if they were forged -- basically pointing out the problem. The government did come back and say that the cards were unlikely to be forgeable, but it wasn't the former MI5 person saying it. No more posting before fully awake.
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Card Security is not the Point
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No Subject Given
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Eventually
The point is that this sort of scheme ends up being much better at identifying law-abiding citizens than criminals, especially the most dangerous, well-funded types.
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now if only ...
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