[sclug] Looks like volunteering linux boxes to schools is now criminal offense

[Alex Butcher]

On Wed, 4 Jun 2008, Tom Carbert-Allen wrote:

> This is the point were you will all hate me:
>
> The ONLY way to make CRB check effective is a national unified
> computerised ID system backed by biometric data (for verification and to
> avoid duplicates) for all people in the country for any length of time
> whatsoever. How else can you get around liars, typos and people with alot
> of address.

I find your faith in biometric data... disturbing. :-)

See page 271 of Ross Anderson's "Security Engineering"
(<http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~rja14/Papers/SE-13.pdf>):

In any widely-deployed system which uses biometrics, they take on the
properties of names, rather than passwords. Consider what happens if a
retailer sets up a bogus biometric terminal purportedly to protect
themselves from payment card fraud, or if you fail to wipe your pint glass
down before it is collected by the barman... Furthermore, revoking
biometrics is a real pain in the arse (or the finger, or the eyeball, or
whatever).

> I think the fundamental reason people don't like ID card systems is because 
> they have spent so long listening to FUD they have no faith in an ID system 
> to be run in a scientificly admirable manor.

That, and being opposed on principle to such an authoritarian system of
control.

[snip]

> The solution is to replace parliament with scientist with no financial or 
> politcal motivation to decide logially on best solutions.

...because technocratic leadership has always worked so well in the past
(I'm thinking here of the Soviet Union). And, if you happen to be a fan of
that particular regime, I probably ought to remind you that the last
significant scientist politician in this country was a certain Baroness
Thatcher...

A deep-seated sense of personal honour, outlook and philosophy rather than
career background are far more effective indicators of governmental
competence in my book.

> TCA

Best Regards,
Alex.
-- 
Alex Butcher, Bristol UK.                           PGP/GnuPG ID:0x5010dbff

"[T]he whole point about the reason why I think it is important we go for
identity cards and an identity database today is that identity fraud and
abuse is a major, major problem. Now the civil liberties aspect of it, look
it is a view, I don't personally think it matters very much."
  - Tony Blair, 6 June 2006 <http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page9566.asp>