Privacy advocates are issuing warnings about a new radio chip plan that ultimately could provide electronic identification for every adult in the U.S. and allow agents to compile attendance lists at anti-government rallies simply by walking through the assembly.
The proposal, which has earned the support of Janet Napolitano, the newly chosen chief of the Department of Homeland Security, would embed radio chips in driver’s licenses, or “enhanced driver’s licenses.”
“Enhanced driver’s licenses give confidence that the person holding the card is the person who is supposed to be holding the card, and it’s less elaborate than REAL ID,” Napolitano said in a Washington Times report.
[...]
Radio talk show host and identity chip expert Katherine Albrecht said REAL ID earned the opposition of Christians because of its resemblance to the biblical “mark of the beast,” civil libertarians opposed it for its “big brother” connotations and others worried about identity theft issues with the proposed databases.“We got rid of the REAL ID program, but [this one] is way more insidious,” she said.
Enhanced driver’s licenses have built-in radio chips providing an identifying number or information that can be accessed by a remote reading unit while the license is inside a wallet or purse.
[...]
[Michigan State Rep. Paul Opsommer said,] “We are close to the point now that if you don’t want RFID in any of your documents that you can’t leave the country or get back into it.”
I can see it now..
CC card with chip..ALREADY HERE..
ID with chip, coming soon to a wallet near you.
BANK card chip..
this chip
that chip..
ALL RUBBING AROUND your wallet..
Any one for a spark arrestor??
Lightning rod ANYONE??
ECA…it’s easier than that. Put those chips near the antenna of a big UHF ham rig and key it. Blammmo.
Olo Baggins… easier than that. Just get yourself tasered.
I’ve already got an anti-RFID wallet and passport holder from thinkgeek. Built-in faraday cages, and attractive, too. Not expensive, either.
24,
thats great..
NOW all those card RFID signals bounce off each other..CAN you say 4 people ALL on the same channel CB, trying to talk at the same time??
Probably make ALL of them NON-readable..
Ok. Think about it. Why do you NEED to carry a driver’s license? In fact, you don’t. If you obey the speed limits, etc, you will not get pulled over. What else do you need to carry it for? Traveling by plane, getting into a Federal building, picking up a package at the US Post Office. Ok, use it then, At those times, who cares if somebody knows you are there? The rest of the time, leave it in a safe at your house, next to your Glock. Unless, of course, like me, you carry your Glock everywhere.
ECA…You should probably read this:
http://howstuffworks.com/rfid.htm
All the talk of the faraday wallet ignores the fact that you have to take the license out of the wallet when you buy your smokes or a million other things. If you are within about 100 feet of a any reader that is powerful enough, it is going to be read. For anyone who understands anything about the differences between passive and active RFID, the fact that it is passive means diddly. All the means is that it uses the energy of a reader to broadcast, rather than an internal battery of its own. It still automatically gets read by any reader that queries it.
pete…that’s not true. It takes a very special reader, a hacked one with a lot of power, to grab data at 100 feet. Lots of issues in this situation, reading a tag at that distance is a big hassle in the real world unless conditions are perfect.
Second, you can easily program tags to stay silent unless they hear the right code.
The diff between active and passive is huge. Passive tags transmit much farther…they actually broadcast rather than simply reflecting, which is what passive does. It’s easy to wreck the range of a passive with a tiny piece of aluminum foil taped on the backside of the tag.
only reason why janet voted down REAL ID was because it was fed mandated w/out funds to the state…and it was projected to cost $11 billion per state (so probably $15-22billion in reality)
whatever the outcome, you can bet your *private data* will be compromised and on the black market within a year of implementation of any electronic ID system, government or otherwise. -and used against you in rather creative ways..
computers are great for alot of things, but privacy is not one of them..esp when a corruptible human is in the loop.
imo, anything they implement would have to be open source (the back end) -no doubt back doors will be installed in either case, but something about a false sense of security makes me all warm and fuzzy inside..
-can’t wait till next year.
(or later this year) -when they release the 15minute, $1000 genome sequencer. that’ll
raise alot of hairs..
#8 Paddy-O:
“Those who would trade freedom for security deserve neither”
-only relevant post in here.
-s
27,
THEY ALREADY DID SOMETHING LIKE THIS..
It failed.
NOT because it didnt work. IT DID.
but it failed because there was NO CHECKER to interact with..
NO body to talk/complain/be friendly with..
Then the fun comes along..PRICE CHECKS, and validating your RECEIPT..
If you are going to a protest rally, then leave your ID at home.
#26 “If you obey the speed limits, etc, you will not get pulled over. What else do you need to carry it for?”
Maybe for proof of who you are if involved in an accident. And please do not be under the mistaken impression that police will only stop you if you are speeding (or other infractions). Current law allows numerous reasons for police to stop you and ask to see your license, registration and insurance.
I do not carry their card now, and I will not carry any card!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
33,
A spades,
King of diamonds??