EZ Pass and the fast lane ....

[Ivan Krstic]

Ian Grigg wrote:
[...]
> I can make a call, and nobody can read my location without doing
> complicated tracking stuff with many cells.

I understand usually no more than three are required, and even two are
enough.

> The day that the cops get their dream of cell phones being able to
> signal location, that might change, but in the meantime, a cell phone
>  is for most purposes unlocatable.

Having just bought a new Kyocera SE-47, you can imagine my surprise to
note the phone has an integrated GPS transponder, theoretically used for
location tracking by 911 services. I'm assuming it won't be particularly
long before law (the next patriot act?) requires such transponders to be
accessible by law enforcement agencies regardless of user preferences.

> All of which is irrelevant.  The MP3s you are trading do not generate
> a transaction request, being fraudulent or otherwise, do not hit a
> server that has details on who you are, and are probably encrypted so
> nobody can tell what it is you are doing, thus forcing the cops (IP
> terrorists being your #3 priority) to pull the car to a halt and
> search for contraband music.

I haven't yet read Doctorow's novel, but I don't see how the idea of
cops having to pull people over could make much sense. Cars moving down
the highway require an implicit trust architecture to exchange music,
unless we're talking of some distant future where there's a global PKI
that we're all part of, and people can rely on trust networks that arise
from it. So, if you have an implicit trust architecture (you have to
tell anyone who asks what you're offering, hoping they'll do the same in
return), the cops are indistinguishable from anyone else, making it very
easy to land arrests.

Regarding the EZ toll debate, I'd say the cost/benefit ratio will keep
people from starting to mess with these. I can buy a new cell
phone for $100, but not the same with a car; unless people are willing
to go very hi-tech in their toll evasion maneuvers, implementing, say,
thin see-through LCD screens placed over their license plates that turn
opaque at a push of a button, they probably won't risk their car. And
once they realize such a setup would cost more than the tolls they're
evading in the first place, they probably still won't risk their car.

Cheers,
Ivan.









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