6 votes

Digital IDs needed to end 'mob rule' online, says security minister Ben Wallace

9 comments

  1. [3]
    ZaphodBeebblebrox
    Link
    The obvious question here is, even assuming the U.K. passes a law requiring online digital identification, what will this law accomplish if it can only apply to U.K. citizens? Will the U.K. create...

    The obvious question here is, even assuming the U.K. passes a law requiring online digital identification, what will this law accomplish if it can only apply to U.K. citizens? Will the U.K. create their own great firewall? It just seems like a dumb plan that completely ignores the realities of the internet.

    8 votes
    1. mat
      Link Parent
      That's pretty much the mission statement of the UK Home Office. Look up what they think about cryptography, for example.

      a dumb plan that completely ignores the realities of the internet.

      That's pretty much the mission statement of the UK Home Office. Look up what they think about cryptography, for example.

      10 votes
    2. tyil
      Link Parent
      That's the worst part of it, that makes it more likely to pass. Government officials have absolutely no idea how computers or networks work. They believe it works with sheer magic, and that you...

      It just seems like a dumb plan that completely ignores the realities of the internet.

      That's the worst part of it, that makes it more likely to pass. Government officials have absolutely no idea how computers or networks work. They believe it works with sheer magic, and that you can harness it just like the physical world. There is no competence whatsoever with regards to IT from these people.

      And given the UKs recent behaviour of an absolute authoritarian policestate, undermining basic principles of law and order intended to protect the people, them actually implementing a law like this is not out of the question.

      I would not be surprised if they do pass a law for this, and end up as a totalitarian government with strict control over who may access which information. I'd love to be wrong, though, but their recent behaviour shows this is the way they want to go.

      6 votes
  2. [3]
    OptimalBasis
    Link
    Suppose there is a centralized trusted ID source. How will it be protected from being hacked? It will be a huge target for identity thieves. Identity theft is a big enough of a problem in other...

    Suppose there is a centralized trusted ID source. How will it be protected from being hacked? It will be a huge target for identity thieves. Identity theft is a big enough of a problem in other realms, and centralization isn't the answer.

    3 votes
    1. tyil
      Link Parent
      It won't be. But people like this trust that their IT is the best. It's government IT after all, they know what they're doing. And because they know what they're doing, it's going to be safe. The...

      It won't be. But people like this trust that their IT is the best. It's government IT after all, they know what they're doing. And because they know what they're doing, it's going to be safe. The part they're missing is that the politicians believing this themselves have no clue about it. They have no way to verify what is being done, and whether it's safe.

      I've had a discussion with a police chief about security and surveillance a couple months ago, and he said the system (containing all video surveillance of a city) is completely safe. When I asked him how he knew that, he informed me that's what his friend from IT says, and he trusts him. When I told him that I, as a software engineer, am telling him now that there is no completely safe environment in technology, he told me he doesn't believe it because I'm not his friend. This is very worrying to me, as it shows that those in power care not for expert opinion, but just want to believe their friends so they don't have to care about certain important aspects.

      2 votes
    2. ourari
      Link Parent
      You're right. Even if they build the perfect system which even locks out unintended use by the people who build/maintain/oversee it, all people who have such an ID remain vulnerable to other forms...

      You're right. Even if they build the perfect system which even locks out unintended use by the people who build/maintain/oversee it, all people who have such an ID remain vulnerable to other forms of hacking, such as social engineering.

  3. settdigger
    Link
    Sounds like a comedy act.

    Sounds like a comedy act.

    1 vote
  4. Luca
    Link
    I hate to draw parallels like this, but... Seriously though. The UK already has police-state levels of surveillance, all they're missing is the ability to know exactly who says what online.

    I hate to draw parallels like this, but...

    Seriously though. The UK already has police-state levels of surveillance, all they're missing is the ability to know exactly who says what online.

    1 vote