Real ID
So what is the real story behind Real ID??? I am not sure I know and I am not sure anyone really knows, but Real ID will not lead to good things down the road. For more information on Real ID take a look at this c|net article.
I really have to give c|net some merit for not beating around the bush with this article. I loved this part:
Q: Why did these ID requirements get attached to an “emergency” military spending bill?
Because it’s difficult for politicians to vote against money that will go to the troops in Iraq and tsunami relief.
Maybe I am wrong, maybe I should give the benefit of the doubt to the government but I am really worried about this. You see once the floodgates are open, they can’t generally be closed. I can see it now, hmm you want to cross a state line and to do it you need to swipe you Real ID. This so much remind me if the talk about papers in The Hunt for Red October. There is a scene when the captain is talking to his officer about traveling and he says no papers, yup no papers. So this may not be a paper but I think it is worse. If this thing ends up with RFID then they can just put a sensor at the state line. How long till this system gets hacked by some 12 year old and everyone in the world know where I do my banking and where I drive.
So you may wonder why do I care. I do not really, I am usually very open and if someone wants to know where I am going they ask and I am sure to tell. The point is that I feel this could lead to some real invasions of my privacy.
Did you know Texas is considering RFID tags on all license places, and yes, police would scan them automatically for criminals in the like, I’d say the “tracking system” infrastructure is already being put in place. (Only if the license gets an RFID tag, now they’ll know if someone’s borrowing your car or not.) And as more and more things are RFID-mandated, more and more government buildings will have readers, then like red-light cameras they’ll be red-light RFID readers (to help catch people who run red lights, of course)… The end result will indeed be tracking of everyone’s movements. Technology as an oppressor. NO ONE has to have that idea in mind now for that to be what happens; it’s simply where the current trend will end up.