I rarely read The Times anymore since it turned into a tabloid, in more ways than merely the size of the newspaper, however I did this morning as I was waiting for a dental appointment.
A couple of stories piqued my interest.
Clarke condemns the ‘Luddites’ over identity cards opposition
Is this the bloggers’ favourite blog?
The new Home Secretary Charles Clarke last night branded opponents of the plan “Luddites” and argued that he had a duty to use technology to protect citizens as he overcame opposition from both the Labour and Tory back benches.
I know he wasn’t referring to me as he was using the term to describe the recalcitrant MPs opposed to the bill but it is oddly amusing for a technologist such as myself to be lumped in with Luddites.
It is particularly ironic given that I think it is the government’s blind faith in technology to solve problems that has gotten us so far down this road. The proposed National Identity Card will not solve the most significant of the problems it is designed to address and yet will drastically undermine privacy and civil liberties. This is a security trade-off that I’m not willing to accept and neither I suspect would the majority of the public if they truly understood what the proposals meant.
I have written a longer thesis called Identity and ID cards, in which I outline the impact of the proposed National ID card.
The second of the stories in The Times is a profile of the blog BoingBoing which is indeed as the article suggests my favourite blog.
Tags: computer security, ID cards, security
