Privacy or Protection?
Everything today in the “Information Generation” focuses on expediting anything that can be, and automating anything that can be. Criminals these days can actually steal without being close to anyone or anything: a scary thought, but it is true. Many people have heard the story or watched the video of Chris Paget. He simply climbed in his car, and after arming himself with some easily purchasable Motorola tracking technology, he cruised around Fisherman’s Wharf, looking for victims. Soon enough, his device picked up some radio signals, and downloaded directly to his laptop the names and numbers of people’s identity cards that had been loaded with the new radio-interfacing. He was able to steal these people’s identity and information from over twenty feet away, and nobody was the wiser; beats pick pocketing for sure! His video made headlines all over the Internet, and although he didn’t use the information maliciously, and simply as a pedagogic tool, it opened people’s eyes: that could have been me!
The government asserts that these tracking technologies will speed up the entry of citizens back into the country, checks at borders, and deter interlopers from trying to get into the United States. What they propose to do is insert a tiny radio frequency chip into every citizen’s identification cards and driver’s licenses to speed up the process of identifying someone. Basically, they give the border example. Instead of pulling up to a border, rummaging around for your pass and having an official scan it, and ask you twenty questions, you do absolutely nothing. That’s right; you don’t even have to pull your card out. As long as it is in your car or up to a twenty feet radius, the person will simply press a button to remotely scan it, and you will be on your way.
This all sounds great, and it really is intuitive and breakthrough technology. It would be a bit hedonistic to believe that it is all good however; there are two sides to every coin. The downside of this technology is that is possibly makes you traceable. As Chris showed the world with his criminal documentary, these cards could be scanned by a non-government official for a bad purpose, and your identity would be stolen. You wouldn’t even realize it until much later either! If your passport is stolen now, you would know because you wouldn’t be able to find it. If this new technology is ratified and employed, the consequences could be dire. You could be holding your passport or I.D., but it could actually be already stolen. A strange concept to grasp, but altogether unsettling.
A strong debate is in the making. Although this sounded like an excellent new addition to our technological armada that citizens command today, a simple video made us all re-think. Is ease of use worth having a possible privacy meltdown?
People are referencing George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel to show opposition to this new change. They say as this rate, the fictional horror world of 1984 will become a reality. The government is already discussing the use of biometric identification; such as a cornea scan or fingerprint analysis as the complete way to identify people. Though the meme of the book is actually “Big Brother”, people are calling these new radio micro-chips “Little Brother”.
On June 1, anyone entering the United States or applying for a new passport was required to get one with the radio chip installed. Anyone with an old passport must do so once their old one expires. With these new passports comes new driver’s licenses. Many states such as Washington, Wisconsin, and New York are already using this technology publicly, while others such as Texas and Arizona have already been hatching plans with the government to adopt this technology and employ it later.
Privacy heads at the organization for Homeland Security insist that the technology serves a different purpose. They say that it is not meant to identify you, but rather to confirm that information located on your passport, driver’s license, etc. is accurate and true. They insist again that there is nothing to worry about privacy wise because they are not pulling up information like speeding tickets or anything personal.
Neville Pattinson, is a major supplier of micro-chipped cards. In a statement concerning the privacy of these cards the government is thinking about using, he surprisingly agrees with the skeptics. In the online newsletter “The Privacy Advisor”, he called out the technology, saying it was not safe or secure, and oftentimes did not speed up any processes, as it seemed not to work a lot! He said that the inherent flaw with the radio technology is that it cannot recognize when it is being accessed by a non-official, and will faithfully transmit the data to the criminal.
Meanwhile, Homeland Security is ignoring everyone’s concerns and touting the effectiveness of these radio tags, and promoting them to different companies. As of right now, as far as driver’s licenses go, these chipped cards are completely optional, and maybe it is better this way. If, empirically, these devices fail than they should certainly not be employed into the commonwealth of the U.S.
Some people have some interesting takes and quips to put forth about these chips. One man said that you wouldn’t wear your social security number on your shirt, but you are transmitting it for up to twenty feet on your radio interfaced identity card. On top of this, as long as you don’t steal any data, there are no laws against some sneaky surveillance on people’s radio chipped cards.
If the plan is to work, something has got to give. Either the government needs to assure the people that additional protection will be instated, or the public will have none of it. Possibly they could make some sort of feature where the device can be powered off until you need it. It can be likened to an anonymous proxy. They need to make some sort of device that will hide your IP address (radio frequency number) and allow you to remain anonymous and secure while just traveling around. This will prevent identity theft and other privacy issues. These are just ideas, but they definitely need to bolster the security somehow, because having a whole nation of people who’s information is right there for the taking is not good. This would be a hacker’s paradise though!
Be careful, and keep on eye on the news to learn more about this technology. Maybe it has potential to be useful, but right now it just seems dangerous. Wait and see how the people in the states that have the new licenses feel about them. Always be cautious; your safety on the Internet as well as real life is the most important thing you can worry about.
