IP: Fwd: FINLAND MULLS PUTTING NATIONAL IDs ON CELL PHONES (from NewsScan Daily)

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Why does this worry me djf
> From: "the terminal of Geoff Goodfellow" <geoff () iconia com>
> To: "Dave E-mail Pamphleteer Farber" <farber () cis upenn edu>
>
> FINLAND MULLS PUTTING NATIONAL IDs ON CELL PHONES
> The Finnish government is considering using SIMs -- the subscriber
> information modules inside every cell phone -- to take the place of its
> national identity card, and eventually even a passport. Under the plan, the
> computer chip embedded in every SIM would store personal information,
> transforming the SIM into a person's legal proof of identity. Of course the
> drawback would be what would happen if you lost your phone -- about 9,000
> cell phones are left on the London Underground alone every year. The
> solution, according to Roger Needham, manager of Microsoft's British
> research lab, is to store the information on secure servers accessible via
> a WAP connection to the Web. The SIM in this case would store only a
> personal identifier -- an encryption key -- that the owner would have to
> punch in a PIN to use. The Finnish government is already taking the
> initiative with a national technical standard called FINEID. Currently
> FINEID uses a smart card and a card reader attached to a PC, but the plan
> is to migrate to an SIM, says Vesa Vatka of the Finnish Population Register
> Center in Helsinki. (New Scientist)
> http://www.newscientist.com/hottopics/tech/yourphoneisyou.jsp
>
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> geoff.goodfellow () iconia com, Prague CZ * tel/mobil +420 (0)603 706 558
> "success is getting what you want & happiness is wanting what you get"
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