White House Wants to Issue You an Online ID

[Asiantravel]

A few years back, the White House had a brilliant idea: Why not create a single, secure online ID that Americans could use to verify their identity across multiple websites, starting with local government services. The New York Times described it at the time as a "driver's license for the internet."

Sound convenient? It is. Sound scary? It is.

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-white-house-wants-to-issue-you-an-online-id

[NHJ]

it's a very good idea, we use that in belgium since years to access online our data on governement's website, we either use an ID card reader or we receive a citizen's token.

[healthbkkbkk]

it's a very good idea, we use that in belgium since years to access online our data on governement's website, we either use an ID card reader or we receive a citizen's token.

Bon alors, the next time "they" feel like craking down on one ideology or another or one group of people or another they will know just where to find who they want.

[Fookhaht]

it's a very good idea, we use that in belgium since years to access online our data on governement's website, we either use an ID card reader or we receive a citizen's token.

Total faith in a Nanny State.

Okay as long as it REMAINS that kind of state, whilst holding that kind of all-pervasive information.

That's right, stay away from your history books and good luck!

[Pib]

Belgium must be a good nanny state to provide those online services as they also have highest taxes (combined federal, local/state, and social security) in the world according to this CNN article: Link.

Below is a cut and paste from that article. The Link will provide an interactive display to show the breakdown of taxes.

[healthbkkbkk]

Belgium must be a good nanny state to provide those online services as they also have highest taxes (combined federal, local/state, and social security) in the world according to this CNN article: Link.

Below is a cut and paste from that article. The Link will provide an interactive display to show the breakdown of taxes.

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I have lived, worked or studied in the first 6 countries on the list. I am amazed to see the United States slightly above the UK. Belgium is no surprise as many parts of Bruxelles look like a third world country with employers afraid of hiring due to the high taxation and low return on infrastructure. That said I should add that Bruxelles is my second favorite place on earth. I so love the women there.

[Gonsalviz]

it's a very good idea, we use that in belgium since years to access online our data on governement's website, we either use an ID card reader or we receive a citizen's token.

America has counties bigger than Belgium. Aside from the name of the country, The United States of America, you have no clue.

America is the Western Hemisphere. United States is the program. The US federal government already has too much power.

The major problem with the world is they call the country America,but is actually the United States.

[attrayant]

There are two players in this game: identity theft and identity management. ID theft is high in many places simply because IDM is poorly (or not at all) implemented. In other words, the cart is presently way ahead of the horse. The effort quoted in the OP seems to be a good first step at righting the situation.

Back in 2006 I was a program manager for the DC government charged with drafting proposals on implementing IDM just within that small city of about half a million residents. The problem was that people had half a dozen different identities - one for the motor vehicle department, one for the public libraries, one for schooling, another for public assistance, another for voter ID and so on. The goal was to merge all of a person's various virtual identities into a single ID that, in phase one, would be recognized by all government services. Phase two would roll in banking and some retail services.

Even for such a small city, it was an enormous effort requiring buy-in from many stakeholders and substantial investment in platform development. By the time I left in 2011 it was still under development.

If we can dial down the paranoia just a bit, hopefully you'll see this as a step in the right direction towards reducing ID theft and streamlining public services. Yes there are risks, and proper safeguards and controls need to be established. But overall I think this is a good thing.

[healthbkkbkk]

In a perfect world you would be correct but in a world where our rulers invade other countries under false pretext, torture in secret prisons, pass the NDAA, illegally spy on every form of communication known to man and have repetitively expressed contempt for Constitutions, Human Rights, Peace and the Rule Of Law, where corporations have been judged to be "people" and the Police are being militarized it isn't paranoid to distrust giving these rulers any more power or control over us.

Edited May 6, 2014 by astral
Removal of long quote - Please use Reply button a the bottom

[Pib]

I expect Belgium with little over 11M people and probably a lot less local govt to deal since it's a small country had an easier time implementing it. But in a country like the U.S. with around 315M folks, 50 states, thousands of county/city local govts, thousands of towns/cities, etc., it would be a lot harder to implement such a system. Heck, just the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim Metro area has over 13M folks, which is the second largest metro area in the U.S. with tons of govt services. The New York City-Newark-Jersey City Metro area is almost 20M folks.

Edited May 6, 2014 by astral
Removal of long quote - Please use Reply button a the bottom

[Asiantravel]

I wouldn't even trust people in the government to tell me the right time of day

“The most terrifying words in the English language are: I am from the government and I am here to help.”

Ronald Reagan

Edited May 6, 2014 by astral
Removal of long quote - Please use Reply button a the bottom

[noodle]

Yet another control scam.

[attrayant]

As expected, this topic is creeping slowly but surely into tinfoil hat territory.

I wouldn't even trust people in the government to tell me the right time of day

And yet you do, via the US Naval Observatory's master clocks that send time keeping data to the Internet's NTP servers. I think you should stop using that service at once, and go back to sun dials.

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I am from the government and I am here to help.

(Reagan talking about the government of his own country)

"Trust, but verify." - Ronald Reagan, talking about a foreign government (The "Evil Empire" or Soviet Union)

I'm not sure whose advice we should take; Ronald Reagan's or Ronald Reagan's.

[jjablonsky]

It certainly would make acessing govt. sites easier. As far as invasion of privacy? If you think that you visited whitehouse.gov without them gaining every digital scrap of who you are where you've been , what you look at and search for on the internet boy I got some ocean front property in Indiana I want to sell you.

But if your looking for a browser that will keep more of your information private take a look at Epic Privacy Browser

J & S Computers

[Cheops]

Belgium must be a good nanny state to provide those online services as they also have highest taxes (combined federal, local/state, and social security) in the world according to this CNN article: Link.

Below is a cut and paste from that article. The Link will provide an interactive display to show the breakdown of taxes.

capture.JPG

This gives another list: Country-Tax-list

The CNN source only listed about 12 countries.

On topic:

In the Netherlands there is the DigiD

[somchaismith]

America doesn't own the net.

[unanimosity]

it's a very good idea, we use that in belgium since years to access online our data on governement's website, we either use an ID card reader or we receive a citizen's token.

You shouldn't need that to access public information, and personal private information access has no business being on the Web. But, if you are comfortable telling your gov your every move, belief, interest, opinion, location, web search, etc., that is your prerogative. Certainly isn't mine.

[ggt]

Sounds on the surface...like a good idea...my problem is the invasion of privacy this might allow...a gov't which has shown itself to have no limits when it comes to spying on people...at home and abroad...in direct conflict with the constitution...I do not like it...

[Frank James]

No, No, a thousand times NO. Bad idea, and the justifications they use for it are laughable. There is no difficulty right now in logging onto a government website, going through the usual hoops to identify yourself. It's bad enough that they can already track our every move via GPS and credit cards.

I see what's shaping up in our country that used to be so great, and am glad I am old. God help America.

[attrayant]

my problem is the invasion of privacy this might allow

Whatever invasions or nefarious deeds are being imagined, those things can already happen. Creating a centralized IDM system doesn't suddenly give authorities access that they already don't have (although it might streamline that access).

There is no difficulty right now in logging onto a government website, going through the usual hoops to identify yourself.

Speak for yourself. Somewhere between 30-50% of helpdesk calls are for password resets and other simple user access problems.Believe it or not, some agencies are still operating on paper forms that can take days or weeks to move around and often get lost. All of this manual labor and human IT support is very expensive. Centralized IT is almost always less expensive and more efficient than distributed IT. The current administration is the most IT-aware we've ever had. I believe they understand how much money can be saved by centralizing government services.

There is only one federal government. There should be only one number to call and one service portal to log into (both of which would ideally be open 24×7×365) when you need help with any of the hundreds of government services that are available. There's a thread here about a member who didn't get his regular SS funds deposit this month and Thai creditors are on nipping at his heels. I'll bet he doesn't think the present system is so great.

[Frank James]

I guess it's already too late to be concerned about this sort of thing. We are bombarded with messages every day about "this is good for all of us"..."it's all about keeping YOU safe"..."those who have nothing to hide needn't worry---to the others, BE VERY AFRAID!" It's the Surveillance Society and the National Security State. We have only the barest illusion of having personal privacy, and then we are told that this is not a right enshrined in the Constitution, but still...

So, bend over.

[astral]

I have removed 3 off topic posts.

Please keep to the subject.

Thank you

[jacnl2000]

On topic:

In the Netherlands there is the DigiD

political money related instrument

[Gonsalviz]

We already have one. It is called a Social Security Card. When the law was written and it used to be written on the card that is was not to be used for ID but the laws have been changed and the number is required for everything from the government. It is written that you do not have to give the number but you will not recieve any services if you don't

The theft of that number has been the woe of many citizens, including myself.

[attrayant]

The theft of [a social security] number has been the woe of many citizens, including myself.

You've just given a good example in support of a national ID card (NIDC from here onward) as described by the OP. The reason a SS# is so easy to steal is because it's not secure. I can randomly select nine digits and chances are good it'll be somebody's SS#. I don't even need to have the card in my possession to use the number.

A properly implemented NIDC will use multi-factor authentication. Multi-factor authentication requires you to validate yourself at least twice: with something you have (an RFID card, smartphone, etc) and something you know (pass phrase, PIN, etc).

A LOT fewer people are going to have a secure NIDC breached than a social security number stolen.