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General Discussion & Feedback => Just Chat! => Topic started by: RD on 16/03/2012 23:31:38

Title: Internet ID card for Americans :¬o
Post by: RD on 16/03/2012 23:31:38
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20027800-281.html
Title: Re: Internet ID card for Americans :¬o
Post by: CliffordK on 17/03/2012 09:25:13
I think the military already has some kind of a smart card access system for certain tasks with their computers.  No doubt, if 300 million of those cards were distributed across the USA, they would be "hacked", and anybody could be President for a day.

One has to ask how valuable such a national card will be.  If someone hacks my e-mail, it won't be the worst thing in the world. 

There may be an advantage of allowing companies to continue to implement their own security.  For example "Bingo Card" + password security is pretty low-tech, but it can be effective, and probably as safe as the smartest of smart cards, although I suppose they could be defeated with a good video surveillance system.

Bank of America had implemented a call-back security, where they would call or send an access code to one's cell phone (predetermined number).  A good idea, except that inevitably I never received the authentication code.
Title: Re: Internet ID card for Americans :¬o
Post by: RD on 17/03/2012 12:11:05
Barry (http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=69451) (sic) is doing you a favour: helping you dispense with those pesky passwords, (yeah right).

Quote
What we are talking about is enhancing online security and privacy, and reducing and perhaps even eliminating the need to memorize a dozen passwords
http://news.cnet.com/8301-31921_3-20027800-281.html

How having the internet equivalent of an ID card is “enhancing online ... privacy” has me baffled.

If this internet ID thing comes to pass you’re going to have to amend that “the land of the free” bit in your national anthem: this scheme makes China’s attitude to the internet look liberal  [:)]
Title: Re: Internet ID card for Americans :¬o
Post by: Gordian Knot on 20/03/2012 00:05:36
"Land of the free" has become just so many words on a page. Over the last couple decades, Big Brother has slowly chipped away so much that our "freedoms" are just in our imaginations at this point.