US confirms (RFID) high-tech driver's licences

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff confirmed Thursday that Canadians can use enhanced driver's licences when entering the U.S. by land crossings.
Canadian officials had been pressing for an alternative to passports, saying they are expensive.
While Washington's decision on the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative is due soon, Chertoff indicated the new high-tech licences would be approved.
'Next year, we'll be implementing a rule in stages that will require ... either a passport, a passcard, Nexus card or enhanced driver's licence to cross the land border,' he said during a speech to a Washington trade symposium hosted by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency.
Such licences, which aren't yet available, would contain proof of citizenship.
Several provinces, including Ontario, Quebec and Alberta, are keen to develop the required licences.
Ontario Transportation Minister Jim Bradley said Chertoff's comments mean the provinces can take the next step in discussions with Ottawa about the new licences.
A project using high-tech licences at border points between British Columbia and Washington state is expected to start early next year.
Air travellers entering the U.S. already need passports.

Recent news from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about allowing enhanced driver's licences to be used as alternative to passports for U.S. - Canada border crossing, renewed talks around the privacy issues surrounding the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology.

RFID enables the wireless transmission of data over short distances, through the use of an RFID tag that transmits data, and a reader that receives the data from the tag. This technology is being eyed by Canadian provincial governments as a means to implement high-tech and highly secured driver's licences.

"What we emphasize is that (RFID) is an information system; it's not just compartmental or individual technologies. So it's not just the tag or the reader; it's an entire information system," said Michelle Chibba, policy manager with the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC) of Ontario.

Chibba recommends the government should conduct a privacy impact assessment (PIA) at the initial stages of deploying RFID-enabled driver's licences. This will allow the government to "really look at privacy and security at the outset."

Using RFID to transmit personal information contained in the driver's licence raises security and privacy questions around protecting personal information.

Conducting privacy impact assessments is required for government agencies that are implementing new technologies that will affect the collection, use and disclosure of personal information.

Chibba said the PIA is best done at the early stages of technology implementation. "Even in the design stage, when you are designing the (technology) architecture for example, we find that if you do a PIA it may actually affect or impact the solution that you are going to be deciding upon, because it actually may change the way in which the architecture is built."

The IPC executive added that the use of encryption technology is necessary with RFID implementation, particularly if the application involves the wireless transmission of highly sensitive data.

"So it's not just data at rest that you must secure, but you must also secure the data in motion," said Chibba.

Last week, DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff confirmed that enhanced driver's licences will be among the accepted travel document for Canadians travelling through the U.S. border beginning next year, under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

Provincial governments in Canada have been lobbying the U.S. government to accept high-security driver's licences as alternative to passports for cross-border travellers.

The Government of British Columbia has been working with the U.S. Washington state to promote the acceptance of enhanced driver's licences in order to alleviate border crossing congestion, and provide easier access for Americans wanting to attend the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, according to a statement from the B.C. government.

B.C. is expected to launch its RFID-based enhanced driver's licence in January 2008.

The Ontario government is working towards a similar route for its driver's licences. Earlier this year, it announced it was creating a high-security driver's licence with the goal of it also being accepted as a travel document by the U.S. government

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• RFID
• implants
• rfid
• technology
• micro
• proce
• privacy
• goverement
• overheid
• human
• rights

[identitycrisis108]

RFID isn't intended to protect from terrorists because the government knows it created a propaganda of terrorists to justify a resource grab. RFID is intended precisely to track and monitor the population and facillitate a coming prison/slave nation. It accomodates government targeting and eliminating undesirables and the expenses of their care.

[TheB3e]

RFID makes you feel safe?

Picture this.. A terrorist sits in a a local shopping mall/airport.. He/She is there to target certain nationalities or citizens. They have a laptop with an antenna capable of reading rfid tags from a distance.. He scans the whole area and all the tags show up on screen.. because we now rely on computers to keep us safe, these people have gained access to the network with access to the information these tags point to. Determines concentration of target in area. Kaboom?

[bugsz1]

Crossing the land is a natural right. A religious non-profit should not be allowed to deny your God given inalienable rights.

[humanrights2u]

@OMGITSDRJESUS Nope, No answer. 8 months ago now. I filled out customer form with my reasonable request for a letter reply regarding if RFID will be implemented as I was told they will do. No word. These govt. institutions don`t care about service or accountability. They seem to do what they can to control us like tagged sheep. As far as I know California does not have these RFID`s implanted AT THIS TIME. I`m fed up with their one sided spying on the people. Bye to America as we`ve known it

[OMGITSDRJESUS]

@RadicalNewBreeds I've heard about that! i know its a year later but how could i make sure that i don't wave my rights?? how could i make sure that i am not tied into their system?

[OMGITSDRJESUS]

@humanrights2u what they say? what was they're written answer?

[OMGITSDRJESUS]

@quahogger316 Then lets do something about it. lets make it stop..

[OMGITSDRJESUS]

@Metalicalypse then lets do something about it.

[OMGITSDRJESUS]

YO, SINCE WE ALL KNOW THAT THEY'RE "FUCKING US OVER" WHY THE HELL ARE WE JUST SITTING HERE TALKING ABOUT IT? LETS GO DO SOMETHING. THE INTERNET WOULD HELP BRING US TOGETHER!! CAN WE PLEASE REVOLT, OR AT THE VERY LEAST START GETTING ANGRY? THIS IS TERRIBLE. i only capped for emphasis..

[Metalicalypse]

Whats funny is they already know who you are,what do you do,hows your life,when youre going to work etc.. and they can easily listen to you from your cellphone they can watch you too from your silly iphone etc... So what the hell are these RFID CHIPS? they want you as slaves,just like cowbells, Moooo MOOOOO

[azylumcraze]

They tried this stuff in the Philippines with drivers licenses, the only problem is nobody can afford it.

[SuperPeoplearestupid]

@411American Instead of petitioning a deaf god, you may have better luck petitioning a deaf nation.