Identity documents

Canceling U.K. national ID scheme will save £400 million annually
If start up costs of £300 million are included, the U.K. National Identity Scheme will, over a decade, cost government and citizens around £4.3 billion more than the cost of current passports
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U.K. Home Office lists early ID vendors
nCipher will be paid about £1.3 million for a contract to provide “public key infrastructure and security related work”; 3M SP&SL will receive about £700,000 plus a fee for each card
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Some in U.K. government wanted compulsory DNA cards
In 2003 and 2004, some civil servants considered — and wrote detailed reports about — including DNA or iris biometrics as well as digital photographs in the ID card scheme and the police wanted carrying the cards to be compulsory
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Napolitano introduces make over top Real ID law
Napolitano, a harsh critic of the Real ID Act while governor of Arizona, adopts the “mend it, don’t end it” approach to the law
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U.K. ID and Passport Service brings in ad men
The debate in the United Kingdom about the merit of a national biometric ID continues, but the Identity and Passport Service is not waiting
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Job applicants especially susceptible to identity theft
Those who lose their jobs during an economic slow down tend to respond to dozens of ads in newspapers and on the Internet in search of a new job; they thus become more susceptible to identity theft scams
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Former U.K. home secretary: compulsory passports rather than national ID
David Blunkett, in a speech today, will suggest making national ID voluntary, opting instead for compulsory, pocket-size passports; will also raise questions about massive national database; critics charge there is less here than meets the eye
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U.K. government's reports into ID scheme must be disclosed
U.K. Information Tribunal has ruled that requests from the public for review of internal government reports into the cost-effectiveness and feasibility of the planned National ID Card scheme should be granted — but with names of people quoted in the reports deleted
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Northern Irish sea passengers to mainland may face security check
U.K.’s e-border scheme may subject Northern Irish citizens to security checks similar to those other foreign visitors are subjected to when entering the rest of the United Kingdom via sea
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U.K. pilots oppose government's ID card plan
Lawyers for U.K. pilots’ association said they are examining whether there are legal grounds to challenge Home Office plans to force pilots to take up the cards from Autumn this year
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Nationals of five countries added to U.K.'s biometric visa requirement
The U.K. has added South Africa, Bolivia, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Venezuela to the list of countries the nationals of which need biometric visa to enter the United Kingdom; these five countries failed a test of the threat posed by their citizens in terms of security, immigration and crime; the list already covers three quarters of the world’s population
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EU security watchdog draws privacy baseline for national ID cards
As a dozen of EU members move toward e-IDs, a EU privacy and security watchdog raises questions about these ID schemes, calling for developing a strategy for protecting the privacy of data held through national ID card projects
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CBP deactivates old SENTRI cards
SENTRI, launched in 1995, is a land-border crossing program that provides expedited CBP processing for pre-approved, low-risk travelers along the U.S./Mexico border
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Continental student ID: Europe moving toward standard, contactless ID
The economies and societies of the member states of the European Union are becoming more and more integrated — from currency to soccer teams; the latest move is a pilot project examining continent-wide standard student ID
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Not yet ready for prime time: RFID technology
RFID technology is incorporated into more and more documents (e-passports, enhanced driver’s licenses); trouble is, the technology still suffers from privacy and security vulnerabilities
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