From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Smart card plan 'to empower the citizen'
By Rachel Sylvester
source:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000553071249928&rtmo=VDMV6SwK&;
atmo=99999999&pg=/et/01/1/24/ncard24.html
SMART cards, allowing everybody in the country to claim benefits, pay tax or
obtain access to their medical record through machines in kiosks on street
corners, are to be introduced by the Government.A report from the Performance
and Innovation Unit (PIU), Tony Blair's think-tank in the Cabinet Office,
will recommend the introduction of cards that will operate in conjunction
with a unique personal identifier, such as a thumb print. The aim is to
increase the security of transactions on the internet. The Prime Minister has
<A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000553071249928&rtmo=VDMV6SkK&atmo=
99999999&pg=/et/00/3/8/net08.html">pledged that all Government services will
be available online by 2005</A> and
there are concerns that personal information could be obtained by somebody
else if there is not a secure way of identifying each individual.But the
plan, which will become Government policy once it is published in the spring,
will create fears that ministers are trying to introduce ID cards through the
back door. Each card will have a unique "chip" containing a range of personal
details. The report will also recommend a massive increase in the amount of
private information that can be exchanged between Government departments.Lord
Falconer, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of the project on privacy,
insisted that the cards would be voluntary. "This is about empowering the
citizen, not about Big Brother government. The smart card could give you
access, not just to information about you, but also to Government services,
or to goods. The police could not stop and ask to see it. It is meant to give
people confidence that the privacy of their data is protected." At first, the
smart cards will give people access to Government information. In the longer
run, they will be used to carry out transactions such as paying tax, claiming
benefit or registering the birth of a child. It would also be possible for an
individual to use the card as a foolproof way of identifying himself to the
private sector, for example when dealing with an internet bank.Last year,
Barclays internet customers found that their accounts had been accessed by
other people and <A HREF="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/et?ac=000553071249928&rtmo
=VDMV6SkK&atmo=99999999&pg=/et/00/7/20/cnpow20.html">Powergen users found
their details posted on a website</A>. The
Prime Minister's advisers say the opportunities are "almost limitless" once
the public is convinced of the benefits of the scheme. They have been
studying a system in Finland, where smart cards can be used as
passports.Although the unit's report will stress that the system will not be
universal, some ministers are convinced that the next logical step is to
press ahead with the introduction of ID cards. One said he though it was
inevitable that genetic ID cards, containing details of each person's DNA,
would eventually be introduced. Last week, Jack Straw, the Home Secretary,
proposed to give the police power to retain indefinitely DNA samples taken
from innocent people. Ann Widdecombe, the shadow home secretary, said: "If
this is a card that's voluntarily held and is going to make data more secure
then that's fine." Elizabeth France, the Data Protection Commissioner, who
has been involved in the unit's study, has also called for the introduction
of digital identification cards for doing business on the internet.The PIU
inquiry has been considering how the privacy and security of data can be
maintained in the light of new technology. The report, to be published in the
spring, is also expected to recommend that the law should be changed to allow
much more information to be exchanged between Government departments.Lord
Falconer said: "We want to find ways in which information held by the
Government can be used more effectively to provide better services to the
citizen. But we cannot do that unless we also give the citizen confidence
that his privacy will be protected."
Kenneth Pantling
Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org
List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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