Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Subcommittee on Government Management, Organization, and Procurement
National identity cards are in the news. While paper ID documents have been used in some countries for a long time, today's rapid growth features high-tech IDs with built-in biometrics and RFID chips. Both long-term trends towards e-Government and the more recent responses to 9/11 have prompted the quest for more stable identity systems. Commercial pressures mix with security rationales to catalyze ID development, aimed at accuracy, efficiency and speed. New ID systems also depend on computerized national registries. Many questions are raised about new IDs but they are often limited by focusing on the cards themselves or on "privacy." Playing the Identity Card shows not only the benefits of how the state can "see" citizens better using these instruments but also the challenges this raises for civil liberties and human rights. ID cards are part of a broader trend towards intensified surveillance and as such are understood very differently according to the history and cultures of the countries concerned.
This report focuses upon the Home Office's identity cards scheme, which uses various technologies including biometrics, information and communication technology (ICT) and smart cards. It explores the ways in which scientific advice, risk and evidence are being managed in relation to technologies that are continually developing. The Home Office has followed good practice by the establishment of advisory committees, the use of Office of Government Commerce (OGC) Gateway Reviews and the development of risk management strategies, along with a policy of gradual implementation. But the Committee has identified weaknesses in the use of scientific advice and evidence. There has been a lack of transparency surrounding the incorporation of scientific advice, the procurement process and the ICT system. Consultations have been limited in scope and their objectives have been unclear. Only some aspects of the scheme such as the biometrics have been determined. The Home Office's decisions demonstrate an inconsistent approach to scientific evidence, and the Committee is concerned that choices regarding biometric technology have preceded trials. With extensive trialling still to take place, the Committee is sceptical about the validity of projected costs. The Committee recommends that the Home Office seeks advice on ICT from senior and experienced professionals and establishes an ICT assurance committee. It is crucial that the Home Office increases clarity and transparency across the programme, not only in problem areas. The programme should also be flexible enough to change should evidence emerge that contradicts existing assumptions.
In the forthcoming years, citizens of many countries will be provided with electronic identity cards. eID solutions may not only be used for passports, but also for communication with government authorities or local administrations, as well as for secure personal identification and access control in e-business. Further eID applications will be implemented in the healthcare sector. For some of these solutions we will not need a physical data carrier at all. The Handbook of eID Security is the first source presenting a comprehensive overview of this strongly discussed topic. It provides profound information on the following questions: - Which are the latest concepts, technical approaches, applications and trends in the field of eID? - Which areas of application are covered by the different eID concepts? - Which security mechanisms are used, for what reasons, and how can their reliability be ensured? - How will the security of personal data be guaranteed? This book is a perfect source of information for all persons working in industry, banking, healthcare, research institutes, administrations and public authorities: - who are involved in the development of eID application concepts, technical solutions, and of devices used for transfer and read out data to and from eIDs, - who have or will have to do with eID applications in their daily work, and - who participate in informing and discussing about the security and transparency of eID solutions.
Commonwealth Public Administration Reform is a comprehensive resource for all those in public and private sectors and civil society who are engaged in reforming public administration. It includes in one volume the principal documents of major reform initiatives in the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management. It draws on the richly diverse experience of the association's 54 member countries, large and small, developing and industrialised. The 2004 edition brings together the knowledge and experience of leading experts from around the Commonwealth and covers: Reform strategies; Democracy and Security; Public-Private Partnerships; Human Resources Management; Information Systems; Education and Leadership.
Personal Identification: Modern Development and Security Implications, Second Edition explains how personal identification – and REAL ID – became part of the American fabric along with their past century’s historical ID development. The development of the “trusted and secure” personal identification documents began with passports and has continued as social changes made IDs more essential. This book describes the convergence of technologies and hundreds of patents that produced our “trusted and secure” documents and IDs from our past right up through to today. Key factors, that created today’s need for public-issued mass ID, are addressed: Chronicles the effects of large and mobile populations beginning a century ago Chronicles the effects of “impersonal” electronic & computer communications at a distance, and not face-to-face The distribution of services and money by government agencies based on a person’s identity – including “age” and “group” criteria Describes recent national security and terrorism concerns that necessitates the need to know: “You are who you say you are.” Personal identification documents (IDs) and the societal need for “trusted” identification by the public is a relatively new social phenomenon. In 1900, most people did not need or have any IDs until passports, with a photograph of the individual, became mandatory when Great Britain entered World War I in 1914. In the United States, the State-issued driver’s license is probably the only trusted ID in one’s wallet today, but they became “trusted and secure” documents only recently with the requirement for REAL ID. With the first photo driver’s license issued by the State of Colorado in 1959, it took until 1984 for the last State (New York, 25 years later) to comply. As a direct result of 9/11, where terrorists used fake driver’s licenses to board planes, Congress passed the Real ID Act in 2005 to make all State-issued driver’s licenses more trusted, uniform, and tamper-resistant – what is now called the Enhanced Driver’s License with non-drivers being issued Enhanced Identification Cards. And with this, every US citizen can now possess a trusted and secure personal identification document. Personal Identification, Second Edition chronicles the path of personal identification measures – including the latest developments of Real ID. Scholars and professional security managers understand that stability, security, and safety necessitate these identity measures to ensure a safer America. The book explains the various stages and advances, providing readers with a unique study of this fascinating history of the relationship between identity and the means by which one validates and proves their own identity. The enactment of the REAL ID Act of 2005, with more secure and tamper-resistant documents for each citizen of the United States, is being instituted so that one can trust: “you are who you say you are.” The State-issued driver’s license is not a National ID Card – it is a Nationally Recognized ID for each citizen.
Author: United States. Congress. House. Committee on Government Reform. Subcommittee on Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations, and the Census