Asiantravel Posted May 3, 2014 Share Posted May 3, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NHJ Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post healthbkkbkk Posted May 4, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted May 4, 2014 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. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fookhaht Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 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! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healthbkkbkk Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 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 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonsalviz Posted May 4, 2014 Share Posted May 4, 2014 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post attrayant Posted May 4, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted May 4, 2014 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. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post healthbkkbkk Posted May 4, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted May 4, 2014 (edited) 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 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pib Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Asiantravel Posted May 5, 2014 Author Share Posted May 5, 2014 (edited) 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 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post noodle Posted May 5, 2014 Popular Post Share Posted May 5, 2014 Yet another control scam. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attrayant Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjablonsky Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 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 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheops Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
somchaismith Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 America doesn't own the net. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unanimosity Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ggt Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 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... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank James Posted May 5, 2014 Share Posted May 5, 2014 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attrayant Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 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. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank James Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 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. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astral Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 I have removed 3 off topic posts. Please keep to the subject. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacnl2000 Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 On topic: In the Netherlands there is the DigiD political money related instrument Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonsalviz Posted May 6, 2014 Share Posted May 6, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
attrayant Posted May 7, 2014 Share Posted May 7, 2014 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. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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