Sunday 9 August 2009

UK ID cards - hacking debate rages on - is it just a super-database by stealth?

There has been a heated debate regarding the security of the new (non-compulsory) UK ID cards.

The Daily Mail ran a comprehensive article on how their expert analysed, decrypted, modified and recoded the RFID chip. He was able to change a range of details including 'Entitled to benefits'.

We have always argued that (at best) an ID card proves an innocent person innocent and (at worst) give an illegitimate person instant credibility.

The Home Office have rubbished these reports "This story is rubbish. We are satisfied the personal data on the chip cannot be changed or modified and there is no evidence this has happened," said a spokesperson. A very brave statement in our opinion!

There has been accusations that the Home Office doesn't care about the security of the card as the card itself is not relevant, just a vehicle to build a mass-database. Looking at the apparent ease these cards were cracked this accusation does seem potentially plausible.


1 comment:

  1. ID cards cannot prove a person is innocent, merely that they are who they claim to be. apart from a period when I lived in Aldershot, a military town, I have never been asked by the police to confirm my identity so I cannot see how having an ID card will do anything positive.

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