Exhibit A Why ID Cards Won't Work
New ID cards are supposed to be 'unforgeable' - but it took our expert 12 minutes to clone one, and programme it with false data
"Adam Laurie is no ordinary hacker. In the world of computing, he is considered a genius - a man whose talents are used by government departments and blue-chip companies to guard against terrorists and cyber-criminals.
But even by his standards, what he is about to demonstrate is mind-boggling - and deeply disturbing.
Laurie is holding one of 51,000 ID cards issued by the Home Office to foreign nationals currently working or studying in Britain."
"It is similar to the ID card for British citizens unveiled last week by Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, as part of the Government's ongoing National Identity Scheme.
Embedded inside the card for foreigners is a microchip with the details of its bearer held in electronic form: name, date of birth, physical characteristics, fingerprints and so on, together with other information such as immigration status and whether the holder is entitled to State benefits.
This chip is the vital security measure that, so the Government believes, will make identity cards 'unforgeable'.
But as I watch, Laurie picks up a mobile phone and, using just the handset and a laptop computer, electronically copies the ID card microchip and all its information in a matter of minutes.
He then creates a cloned card, and with a little help from another technology expert, he changes all the information the card contains - the physical details of the bearer, name, fingerprints and so on. And he doesn't stop there.
With a few more keystrokes on his computer, Laurie changes the cloned card so that whereas the original card holder was not entitled to benefits, the cloned chip now reads 'Entitled to benefits'.
As a chilling twist, he adds a message that would be visible to any police officer or security official who scanned the card: 'I am a terrorist - shoot on sight.' "
"Adam Laurie is no ordinary hacker. In the world of computing, he is considered a genius - a man whose talents are used by government departments and blue-chip companies to guard against terrorists and cyber-criminals.
But even by his standards, what he is about to demonstrate is mind-boggling - and deeply disturbing.
Laurie is holding one of 51,000 ID cards issued by the Home Office to foreign nationals currently working or studying in Britain."
"It is similar to the ID card for British citizens unveiled last week by Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, as part of the Government's ongoing National Identity Scheme.
Embedded inside the card for foreigners is a microchip with the details of its bearer held in electronic form: name, date of birth, physical characteristics, fingerprints and so on, together with other information such as immigration status and whether the holder is entitled to State benefits.
This chip is the vital security measure that, so the Government believes, will make identity cards 'unforgeable'.
But as I watch, Laurie picks up a mobile phone and, using just the handset and a laptop computer, electronically copies the ID card microchip and all its information in a matter of minutes.
He then creates a cloned card, and with a little help from another technology expert, he changes all the information the card contains - the physical details of the bearer, name, fingerprints and so on. And he doesn't stop there.
With a few more keystrokes on his computer, Laurie changes the cloned card so that whereas the original card holder was not entitled to benefits, the cloned chip now reads 'Entitled to benefits'.
As a chilling twist, he adds a message that would be visible to any police officer or security official who scanned the card: 'I am a terrorist - shoot on sight.' "
posted by nolocontendere at 6:56 PM
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