Privacy Oriented

Despite early glitch, system a go for early November

By Jeremy Twitchell (writing in the Las Vegas Sun)
Wed, Oct 22, 2008 (7:36 a.m.)

A minor glitch in the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicle’s new high-security system for issuing driver’s licenses shouldn’t impact the system’s planned rollout next month, officials said.

The new system still requires drivers to apply in person at a DMV office and have their picture taken, but changes after that. Instead of receiving a license on the spot within minutes, the new licenses will be manufactured at a central plant in Lacey, Wash., and mailed to drivers within seven to 10 days.

The central issuance system, which debuted Oct. 17 in Carson City, encountered problems on its first day when the information and photos taken for that day’s licenses failed to transmit to the plant in Washington.

“The system didn’t recognize them,” DMV spokesman Kevin Malone said. “Nothing is lost; we have all of the applications and the photos on the computers still. It’s just a matter of figuring out the bug that prevented them from transmitting and fixing it.”

Malone said the glitch was believed to be simple and likely would not take more than a day or two to fix. He said the new system is still planned to launch at DMV offices in Las Vegas and Henderson on Nov. 6 and 7.

The new central issuance system will incorporate technology such as laser perforations and ghost images to make Nevada licenses among the most secure in the nation.

“The card itself — it’s much harder to try to counterfeit,” Malone said. “Once you see one of these things, you’ll see what we’re talking about … It’s not like any card you’ve ever seen.”

The new licenses will not require drivers to make an extra trip to the DMV; existing licenses will remain valid until the expiration date printed on them.

The security features being added to the new licenses will increase their cost by 75 cents each, from $21.25 to $22 for drivers younger than 65 and from $16.25 to $17 for drivers 65 and older. Read the rest of this entry »

By The Associated Press (via the StatesmanJournal)
October 26, 2008

CORVALLIS — The new computers at the Oregon DMV never forget a face.

The state Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division is installing the new computers to compare a new driver’s license photo with an old license image to see if they match.

The idea is to make it harder for criminals to get fake IDs.

Oregon DMV spokesman David House said that is one of the reasons drivers always get a temporary paper license when they get a renewal.

He said Digimarc, the Beaverton company behind the new technology, also needs time to review all the license application photos.

Digimarc is considered a leader in preventing electronic identity theft, counterfeiting and piracy.

But House said that DMV workers will make the final decision after the computer makes its comparison.

The software runs through millions of other photos in the system. If there is a question, trained DMV workers sit down with the photo and all the potential matches and decide whether or not to question the application.

After the photo is confirmed, the laminated permanent driver’s license with the new photo is sent by mail.

Oregon lawmakers authorized the facial recognition system in 2005.

The system accounts for $3 in the $4.50 increase in the driver’s license fee that went into effect in July.

The new computers are scheduled to be installed throughout Oregon by the end of November.

DMV offices getting the new equipment will be closed for a few hours while it is installed and workers are trained how to use it.

Information from: Gazette-Times, http://www.gtconnect.com

And that Gazette-Times version of the story:

New DMV software aims to cut ID fraud
BY TOM HENDERSON
CORVALLIS GAZETTE-TIMES

Computers will compare new photo with old license image to see if they match

New computers at the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles will make it harder for criminals to get fake IDs.

That’s because the computers never forget a face.

The new computers are scheduled to be installed throughout Oregon by the end of November. DMV spokesman David House won’t say when the new technology will arrive in Benton and Linn counties. The computers are being installed field office by field office with little or no advance notice, he said.

DMV offices will be closed for a few hours while the equipment is installed and office personnel are trained in how to use it.

The new technology is pretty slick, House said.

When you get your picture taken at the DMV, the computer looks at your new photo and automatically matches it with your old one — just to make sure you are indeed you. Over the next 24 hours, it does the same thing with millions of other photos in the system. House said this is to ensure you’re not a different person, trying to get a fake ID.

A human being makes the final decision. Trained DMV workers sit down with the photo and all the potential matches and decide whether or not to question the application.

Oregon legislators passed a law authorizing the facial recognition system in 2005. It’s one the reasons you don’t get a regular laminated driver’s license the same day it’s approved. You get a temporary paper license. Your laminated license arrives in the mail.

House said this gives employees at DigiMark, the Portland company behind the new technology, time to review all the license applications.

The facial recognition system also accounts for $3 in the $4.50 increase in the driver’s license fee that went into effect in July.

Facial comparisons are made just with faces on file within the state. Nonetheless, House said, facial recognition should cut down on a lot of fraud.

Last Updated: Wednesday, February 6, 2008 | 9:16 AM ET

CBC News

Canada’s privacy watchdogs are warning governments to think twice before sharing information about Canadians with U.S. border guards.

The country’s privacy commissioners are meeting in Victoria this week, where they are discussing how pilot projects in Ontario and British Columbia could set a dangerous precedent when it comes to accessing information.

The B.C. government says new high-tech driver’s licences that can be used in place of passports at U.S. border crossings won’t contain private information about drivers.

However, Canada’s privacy commissioners have voiced fears about handing over personal data to U.S. border guards.

They were worried about American officers being able to view people’s driving and accident records, including any fines or penalties.

Concerns about privacy centre on a pilot project, which the B.C. government announced last month in a bid to comply with tougher U.S. border crossing rules.

In B.C., 500 people will receive enhanced driver’s licenses. They’ll be embedded with a chip encoded with information that’s normally included on a driver’s licence, plus a digital photo and a birth certificate number.

B.C. Privacy Commissioner David Loukidelis says Canadians need to take careful consideration before taking any approach that will transfer the personal information of Canadian citizens to the U.S. or any other government.

He said that’s because the information swiped from the cards will be permanently held by the United States and Canadian privacy laws will no longer apply.

Loukidelis said that means Canadians can be easily monitored by U.S. authorities, and there are no citizens watchdogs in the United States.

The B.C. government has agreed to make sure that those volunteering for the enhanced driver’s licences are aware of that fact, Loukidelis said.

But so far, neither the federal nor provincial governments have promised to insist that independent U.S. information watchdogs be created.

Lindsay Kines, Times Colonist

Published: Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Canada’s privacy watchdog voiced “significant concerns” yesterday that enhanced driver’s licences (sic) like those being issued in B.C. lay the groundwork for a national identity card.

Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart, in Victoria this week with her provincial counterparts for a privacy and security conference, said the enhanced licences, which are being issued as a cheaper, more convenient alternative to a Canadian passport, closely resemble the Read ID program in the United States. Stoddart characterized that program as a way of introducing an American identity card.

“This may be an attempt to encourage us to harmonize with them,” she said.

Privacy commissioners across the country oppose national identity cards as intrusive and unnecessary. “We think it’s a route that Canadians don’t need to follow,” she said.

B.C. began offering the licences to a select group of 500 residents last month to ease land and sea border crossings into the U.S. A passport is still required for crossings by air.

The enhanced licences will contain a radio frequency identification chip with a “unique identifier” that can be read from 10 metres away. It’s that identifier that worries commissioners, since it could form the basis for a national identity card and allow people’s movements to be tracked.

John van Dongen, B.C. minister of state for intergovernmental relations, rejected that concern yesterday, saying the sole purpose of the licences is to speed up border crossings.

Under the program, border guards will be able to read the “identifier” on the licence as a driver approaches, giving them access to a database containing the driver’s picture, age, address and other personal information.

The information will be much the same as on a regular driver’s licence, and will not include a person’s driving or criminal records.

Privacy watchdogs, however, worry that the database of information, at least during the startup phase, will likely be in U.S. hands, where it could be lost, subject to “inappropriate browsing” or used for unintended purposes.

Van Dongen said the government has worked closely with B.C. privacy commissioner David Loukidelis to ensure that personal information is safeguarded. He also said the program is strictly voluntary and will remain so.

But Canada’s privacy commissioners issued a unanimous statement yesterday that no program should proceed on a permanent basis unless the database containing drivers’ information remains in Canada.

Loukidelis noted that Canada doesn’t transfer its passport database into foreign hands. “And we don’t see why there would be any need to do anything differently when it comes to enhanced driver’s licences,” he said.

A new pilot program will involve 500 volunteers who agree to share personal information with Canadian and U.S. authorities, British Columbia Premier Gordon Campbell said.

The licenses are a response to U.S. security measures that require valid passports for land and water crossings. Beginning next month, Canadians will have to present proof of citizenship when entering.

Passports provide that but traditional driver’s licenses—which have been the key requirement for entry—do not.

The enhanced licenses will look similar to current ones but will be embedded with a radio frequency identification chip that can be scanned at border crossings.

“The new enhanced driver’s license will confirm both the holder’s identity and Canadian citizenship, and can be used at land and water border crossings in place of a passport,” Campbell said.

The license can only be used at land and sea crossings and passports will still be required to fly into the United States.

Campbell said that once an assessment is done on the pilot project, the new licenses could be rolled out to British Columbians as early as 2009.

Officials hope the licenses can help speed the crossing into the U.S., which has slowed because of stepped up security since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

“There were many adversaries and critics who said you’ll never be able to convince the U.S. that there could be acceptable alternatives” to passports, said federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day. “But we do have alternatives now.”

Once in use, Day said drivers approaching a border booth will simply hold the license up to a scanner.

“I think you’ll be seeing very quickly other provinces” joining in, Day said, indicating that Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and Manitoba had shown interest.