[Infowarrior] - Chertoff shows off his mad Newspeak skillz

[Richard Forno]

Knowing the abyssmal state of USG and state-level cybersecurity, Hysterical
Security Czar Chertoff is asking us to fork over our PII into a single point
of failure and vulnerability, and this is "good" for us?  How long before
some laptop escapes a DMV office containing identity information?  Or if the
"database" gets hacked?  What does THAT do for enhancing our privacy?
War is peace, vulnerable is secure, illusions are real.  *shudder*

....from his recent Hill testimony:

< - >

"Personal privacy will be protected by states issuing REAL ID driver¹s
licenses. Our proposal requires that each state conduct name-based and
fingerprint-based criminal history record checks on DMV employees who will
be involved in REAL ID in relevant ways.

Through REAL ID, we¹re not only preserving people¹s privacy but
strengthening it.   By improving the quality of our ID documents, we¹re
protecting against one of the fastest growing crimes in America today ­ the
crime of identity theft.  There is no greater violation of privacy than when
criminals gain total access to personal information in the process of
stealing someone¹s identity.  In the same vein, REAL ID should also offset
the cost of reissuing new licenses through the savings that people will
realize by the reduction of identity theft crimes."

< - >

http://homeland.house.gov/SiteDocuments/20070905140841-10943.pdf

I refer you to a summer op-ed I co-authored with Bruce Schneier opposing the
REAL ID concept, appearing at NEWS.COM:

http://news.com.com/National+ID+card+a+disaster+in+the+making/2010-7348_3-61
80835.html

I remain unconvinced that REAL ID is a good idea or good for providing
effective security and identity assurance for the citizens of this country

-rf