Washington Post article on US National ID cards

[P.J. Ponder]

The Washington Post has an article related to national (US) ID cards:

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52300-2001Dec16.html

Bruce Schneier also has an article on this subject in the latest
_Cryptogram Newsletter_ as well as links to other related resources:

 http://www.counterpane.com/crypto-gram-0112.html

Washington Post article:

> A Changed America: Privacy
> National ID Card Gaining Support
>
>   ID Card  A smart card with a fingerprint could link a person to
> sensitive personal data.
>
> By Robert O'Harrow Jr. and Jonathan Krim
> Washington Post Staff Writers
> Monday, December 17, 2001; Page A01

a couple of quotes from the article:

| As Alan M. Dershowitz, a Harvard University law professor, wrote in
| October in endorsing a national ID card, the "fear of an intrusive
| government can be addressed by setting criteria for any official who
| demands to see the card."

| In a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, almost 3 of 4 people said
| they support government eavesdropping on telephone conversations between
| terrorist suspects and their lawyers. For the first time, there is also
| strong support for secret tribunals for terrorist suspects and more
| government wiretapping. On the specific question of a a national ID
| card, about 70 percent of those recently polled by the Pew Research
| Center said they favor a system that would require people to show a card
| to authorities who request it.

| "We're willing to accept this immense flow of data to law enforcement
| and their proxies to make sure we feel safe and secure," said Marty
| Abrams, an information technology specialist at the law firm Hunton &
| Williams and former senior credit bureau executive. "The equilibrium
| point shifted. It was a massive movement by society."

| The driver's license proposal stands as an alternative to a single
| national card. A technical standard would define the security features
| of the card, but it would allow states the freedom of creative design
| and put the burden on them for administering it. Proponents of this
| approach acknowledge it could easily assume all the features of a
| national ID card once other government agencies and private companies
| begin tailoring their computers to capture information from the card.




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