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People's identities are rooted in their bodies, their physical person. If you
know someone, you know them because you know what he or she looks like.
The reality today, however, is that identification of people in every sector of government and the economy is based on numbers. Of singular importance is the Social Security number, which is at the root of virtually every other identifying number we might have, from an employee number to a checking account number to a healthcare insurance number.
The first problem that arises is verification of ownership. These numbers, including the Social Security number, can be stolen and used by someone other than its rightful owner. There is no efficient way to routinely verify that the person presenting the Social Security number is really the person to whom it was issued.
The second problem is counterfeit credentials. Credentials we have traditionally used to prove our identities, notably the driver’s license, carry numbers and often photographs. These credentials are too easily counterfeited, or can be too easily obtained by false pretense. Federal efforts to make driver’s licenses trusted, hard-to-counterfeit identity credentials failed.
These two problems, verification of ownership and counterfeit credentials, are the root causes of the identity problems facing our citizens, our economy and our government.
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ID
documents are going high-tech, but are these solutions secure?
Researchers claim to have hacked an epassport. But there is so
much more than the chip in today's modern secure documents. Read more...
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eDriver licenses for Monterrey drivers
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The smart card driver’s license scheme that was piloted in Nuevo
Leon last year has proved so beneficial in reducing traffic
accidents, insurance costs, identity theft and even fraud in the
administration.