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07 Aug 2009
The UK government has vigorously denied claims in a Daily Mail report that it is easy for hackers to modify the data on ID cards.
The report said that a hacker known as Adam Laurie had managed to clone all the information on a foreign national's card, and then change the data to entitle the individual to benefits and label him a terrorist for police to shoot on sight.
ID cards are currently voluntary for British citizens, but foreign nationals are required to hold one to show that they have the right to work in the UK. The Home Office said recently that plans are underway to ensure that 75,000 are issued for this purpose by November.
However, the Daily Mail report claimed to show that the microchip on the card, which contains details such as date of birth, fingerprints and physical statistics, is easy to break into using only a mobile and laptop.
"This story is rubbish. We are satisfied that the personal data on the chip cannot be changed or modified, and there is no evidence this has happened," said a Home Office spokesman this morning.
"The identity card includes a number of design and security features that are extremely difficult to replicate."
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Do you agree?
ID Cards
I agree. People who have been using IT for years are going to be far more experienced than any government agency and I have always said that having so much information on a person on a microchip or for that matter, held on a centralised database, is very dangerous. Everything sooner or later can be hacked into and all this will just make things that much easier for criminals and terrorists.
Posted by: Gemma 13 Aug 2009
If they've nothing to hide, they've nothing to fear !
It is rather curious that the Home Office appeared to have declined Adam Laurie's offer to demonstrate how this hack can be carried out. Why is that ? Are they afraid that somebody is about to blow the lid on their claims that ID cards are unforgable ? Of course, this also has implications for the Biometric passport as well as this uses a very similar RFID chip. What if this story actually turns out to be true and the cards are forgable on a micro-electronic level ? There are going to be some very red faces in the Home Office and Civil Service and call into question the very basis of the National ID card itself. Still, not to worry Mr Johnson, I expect by this time next year the ID card scheme will have already been scrapped and any inherant problems problems will have gone down the waste-disposal shoot with it.
Posted by: Radical Meldrew 09 Aug 2009
These ID cards will make bad problems worse
For these ID cards to deter fraud it is a must for everyone to have these cards and every point of transaction should have reading equipment. Nationally it is virtually imposible to satisfy both these conditions and hence it is obvious that these cards will fail. If the government is serious about combating all types of fraud crimes than they should make banks exploit honesty restoring ID KEY system described on website www.xwave.co.uk which will make outdated signature and PIN systems reliable. Even courts should find banks rather than victims liable for losses caused by fraud crimes because these crimes are preventable if banks exploit proposed ID KEY system.
Posted by: Roger 08 Aug 2009
The government are simply LIARS
The only people to benefit from the ID card project are the contractors and consultants who have made millions up on millions selling their BS and waffle.
Posted by: Andy Long 08 Aug 2009
That which can be done can be undone
When will these ministers and so-called 'experts' realise they know nothing about the electronic security world. If an entity like the Daily Mail can crack the encoding then so could any 14 year old with access to the internet and a credit card! I'm sorry but the mere fact that such a card would contain informationabout political alliances and could have you shot on site is just ludicrous Since when did this island become a prison?
Posted by: Gravely concerned 07 Aug 2009
Well does not really sound like a show stopper to me
May be I am wrong but surly that if it was the security services they would be able to read of the details on card directly and then compare it to there internal database, which holds photographs, finger prints, facial recognition data, and in future probably a lot more. Which from this article say have not been hack. I am just presuming that the emigration people would do the same, and well the NHS would do the same and the police, in fact it be stupid for anyone doing official business not to compare the details on the card to the central database records and do a direct comparison between the persion in front of them and the person on database under those details. Which surly means this actually limited to all the illegal under-age drinking usage, highly profitable I am sure and the non face to face fraud, presuming that private firms can pay to use the system to check people identities. May be I wrong through and they the government design the system to enable front line people to do that kind of cross comparison and provide them with the right equipment, which know this government an the privacy lunacy group will have done.
Posted by: david 07 Aug 2009