Is the Real ID Act the real deal for ID security?

By Gary Klinefelter, Fargo Electronics

August 24, 2005 12:00 PM ET

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Computerworld - Is the Real ID Act a step toward a safer society or a threat to the liberties we hold dear?
On May 11, President Bush signed a military spending bill including a provision to create electronically readable, federally approved ID cards for all U.S. citizens. The Real ID Act was created in part to secure identification systems and authenticate credentials to avoid fraudulent duplication. Critics fear that the law empowers the federal government to track individuals in their everyday movements, but with the proper security mechanisms in place, the Real ID Act will help prevent ID credentials from being duplicated or otherwise misused.
What is the Real ID Act?
The Real ID Act provides that, as of May 11, 2008, a federal agency may not accept, for any purpose, a U.S. driver's license or identification card that does not meet the provisions defined in the act. Everyday activities, from opening bank accounts to visiting national parks to traveling by air, will require federally approved identification.
While the act is getting a lot of attention, in truth, the process of getting a driver's license today is not much different from what will be required under the act, as similar data is stored on the card. At a minimum, states must include the following information and features on driver's licenses or personal identification cards:

Legal name

Date of birth

Gender

Driver's license ID number

Digital photograph

Address of legal residence

Signature

Physical security features designed to prevent tampering, counterfeiting or duplication for fraudulent purposes

Common machine-readable technology with defined data elements.

Securing your private data
Citizens have willingly provided photos and birth certificates for some time, so this provision is not new. Additional precautions are being taken to make sure that "breeder" documents, such as Social Security cards, birth certificates and driver's licenses, are valid and that biometric information is gathered in a consistent fashion. Today, these records are being stored electronically so the need to protect this information from hackers and criminals has not changed. The biggest challenge will be securing the databases to ensure their integrity.
Certain personal information may no longer need to be printed on the citizen's card because it is stored electronically on a computer chip inside the "smart" card. Security mechanisms can be built into the smart card to make sure that when a citizen provides his card for identification, only predefined personal data will be electronically released.
Critics of the legislation
Critics of the Real ID Act have voiced concerns regarding the issue of civil liberties, privacy and the government acting as Big Brother.

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