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IP: Smart Cards and Biometrics: An Appropriate Answer to Terrorism?
From: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 16:36:36 -0500
------ Forwarded Message From: Robert Guerra <rguerra () yahoo com> Date: Sat, 16 Feb 2002 11:48:32 -0500 To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net> Cc: declan () mail well com, dhawkins () usnews com Subject: Smart Cards and Biometrics: An Appropriate Answer to Terrorism? -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Here's more material on smart cards and biometrics you and your readers might find of interest. regards Robert - --- Robert Guerra <rguerra () yahoo com> Privaterra - Securing Human Rights <http://www.privaterra.org> A project of Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility (CPSR) <http://www.cpsr.org> - --On Saturday, February 16, 2002 8:58 AM -0500 Dave Farber <dave () farber net> wrote:
Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 19:05:14 -0500 To: declan () mail well com From: dana hawkins <dhawkins () usnews com> Subject: article on biometrics for politech readers?
See what fellow CPSR members Andrew Clement & Peter Hope Tindall in this panel talk given in December and now available online. http://privacy.openflows.org/panel_dec3_2001.html Real Audio Archive of panel discussion available at the following URL: http://www.pc3village.org/community/newsDetails.cfm?NID=5300&Archive=0 SMART CARDS and BIOMETRICS: AN APPROPRIATE ANSWER TO TERRORISM? December 3, 2001 6pm - 7,30pm 140 St. George, Room 205 Both in Canada and internationally, governments are proposing massive spending on deployment of technologies like digital identity smart cards, facial recognition detectors, eye scanners and closed circuit televisions. The rationale has been that these technologies will inhibit terrorism. Social critics suggest that there is little to no evidence to support such a claim and that quite the contrary, these technologies may only compromise citizens' privacy rights while doing little to address terrorism. To better participate in the debate around technology, terrorism and privacy, we invite you to the Privacy Lecture Series panel "Smart Cards and Biometrics: An Appropriate Answer to Terrorism?" A panel of leading experts in these technologies will explain in plain language how the technologies work, what they were designed to do, what their limits are and what policies need to be in developed in any deployment. This panel was developed in collaboration with PC3 Village and Knowledge Media Design Institute (KMDI). Panel moderator: Monica C. Schraefel, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Toronto. Panel participants: Andrew Clement, Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto Kelly Gotlieb, Professor Emeritus, Computer Science, University of Toronto Peter Hope-Tindall, Privacy Architect, dataPrivacy Partners George Tomko, Chairman, Photonics Research Ontario, Ontario Center of Excellence Smart Cards and Biometrics : An Appropriate Answer to Terrorism ?" <http://www.pc3village.org/community/newsDetails.cfm?NID=5300&Archive=0> Smart Cards and Biometrics: An Appropriate Answer to Terrorism? webcast is now available Posted on January 29, 2002 by PC3 Village The ?Smart Cards and Biometrics: An Appropriate Answer to Terrorism? conference provided an excellent insight into the ongoing debate over national security and the public?s right to privacy. All three panelists presented clear and comprehensive arguments for and against smart cards and biometrics. While everyone in the room was clearly concerned over the privacy violation smart cards and biometrics as security measures pose to the general public, the panelists were not completely abolishing the idea of introducing such safety measures into society, but rather wanted to show the audience that these measures were merely ?quick fixes? to the problem, not real solutions. The panelists explained that biometrics are a useful personal PIN that can only be used by the particular individual and hence, privacy and confidentiality of one's own data is protected by the biometric such as an iris scan or a fingerprint. Thus when going to a bank machine only you can "see and access" your own data. Additionally, the government can monitor and control welfare and other kinds of fraud. Biometrics can offer security at places like airports where entrance can only be obtained by a biometric congruence to a database. However, one of the major problems of biometrics is that they can leave data trails that are subject to unauthorized viewing. Therefore, biometrics give people a false sense of security. Many believe that the more sophisticated the technology behind security measures is, the safer that they are. But this is hardly the case. What we need to realize is that although biometrics and smart cards introduce a more complex way of offering security, this only means that the individual has more to lose if a risky situation arises. Imagine if an untrustworthy person was to get hold of your fingerprints? The consequences seem much greater than if that same person say was to discover your bankcard pin number. Which leaves Canadians with a tough decision to make. Should biometrics and smart cards be used as safety measures? For more information on this fascinating subject, please see the web cast of this conference and keep in mind the following questions that were raised during the conference: Can biometrics be set up to provide the positive attributes ascribed to them without falling prey to the potential negative attributes of the invasion of privacy? Does society have an obligation to the citizenry at large that over rides the right of the individual? Did pre digital societies not face similar issues? How were they resolved? Is the introduction of biometrics inevitable? Real Audio Archive of panel discussion available at the following URL: http://www.pc3village.org/community/newsDetails.cfm?NID=5300&Archive=0 -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (Darwin) Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org iD8DBQE8bo1iwp0Kwcyl15IRAlEMAJ9kHg59E1z6LlNlfim+sfaU+WImugCgpI30 ybLwVk9Eyw6+wOdP3g36B+g= =+cZ/ -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- ------ End of Forwarded Message For archives see: http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/
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- IP: Smart Cards and Biometrics: An Appropriate Answer to Terrorism? Dave Farber (Feb 16)