Toward private identification systems

[error]

The driver license and state ID, as we all know, is one of the most misunderstood and overused documents around. Its use for getting on airplanes, as I posted today, results in a loss of privacy coupled with a false sense of security.

But there is a way out.

Michael Chertoff, much to my surprise, put forth the idea of private identification systems, and suggested that the government might even accept them, were they to be built.

This is an idea I've had before, and many other people on here have as well, so I'm going to begin moving forward on building an identification system for people in the liberty movement here in New Hampshire, and possibly elsewhere. If anyone's interested, this is going to require some time, and maybe investing some money, but I'm pretty sure we can have a system up and running in about a year or two from now.

Whether it'll meet the government's specifications, I don't know, but it certainly will meet our specifications.

[Raineyrocks]

The driver license and state ID, as we all know, is one of the most misunderstood and overused documents around. Its use for getting on airplanes, as I posted today, results in a loss of privacy coupled with a false sense of security.

But there is a way out.

Michael Chertoff, much to my surprise, put forth the idea of private identification systems, and suggested that the government might even accept them, were they to be built.

This is an idea I've had before, and many other people on here have as well, so I'm going to begin moving forward on building an identification system for people in the liberty movement here in New Hampshire, and possibly elsewhere. If anyone's interested, this is going to require some time, and maybe investing some money, but I'm pretty sure we can have a system up and running in about a year or two from now.

Whether it'll meet the government's specifications, I don't know, but it certainly will meet our specifications.

What is a private identification system and how does it differ from other forms of identification?

[error]

In principle, it works much the same way as a government identification system, only with some important differences.

Ascertaining identity is simple in practice: if you need assurance of someone's identity beyond whatever information they give, e.g. "I'm Joe Smith," then you obtain an attestation from a third party. In general, the more trustworthy the third party, the more you can rely on the attestation of identity.

It's ironic, then, that the least trustworthy organizations on the planet issue the most widely accepted attestations of identity. How government got into the identity racket is another story altogether, but I will say that it grew out of the widespread use of driver licenses, and your imagination can probably fill in the rest.

Before that, any individual could attest to another's identity, and aside from doing so in person (people without government IDs can get a U.S. passport this way), could do so by writing a letter, often "To Whom It May Concern." Such a letter would attest to the bearer's identity and good character, and sometimes any occupational skills he may have, and the writer would stake his own reputation on his attestation. Such writer would usually be a well-known person in the community. It would not be far out of the ordinary for an individual to have two or more such letters on his person, especially if he were seeking work or moving to a new town where outsiders may be scrutinized carefully.

Now if you're a clever person you can think of all sorts of ways to game this relatively simple system, and I've left out some (quite possibly important) details. But, by and large, it worked. Such a system wouldn't be accepted today, precisely because it would be perceived as too easy to create false identities, but fortunately these days we have the technology. We can rebuild it. Better. Stronger. Faster. Excuse me, more securely.

Without getting far into the technical details, a form of this system still exists and has actually been improved upon by security experts over the last couple of decades. The web of trust is this system taken to the next level: it's all done with public-key cryptography. This web of trust is currently used only in sending encrypted data between members of the web, though some very small enhancements and some creative use of technology could be used to extend it to the offline world as an identification mechanism.

This obviously isn't the whole story, but I'm trying to be brief.

[Raineyrocks]

In principle, it works much the same way as a government identification system, only with some important differences.

Ascertaining identity is simple in practice: if you need assurance of someone's identity beyond whatever information they give, e.g. "I'm Joe Smith," then you obtain an attestation from a third party. In general, the more trustworthy the third party, the more you can rely on the attestation of identity.

It's ironic, then, that the least trustworthy organizations on the planet issue the most widely accepted attestations of identity. How government got into the identity racket is another story altogether, but I will say that it grew out of the widespread use of driver licenses, and your imagination can probably fill in the rest.

Before that, any individual could attest to another's identity, and aside from doing so in person (people without government IDs can get a U.S. passport this way), could do so by writing a letter, often "To Whom It May Concern." Such a letter would attest to the bearer's identity and good character, and sometimes any occupational skills he may have, and the writer would stake his own reputation on his attestation. Such writer would usually be a well-known person in the community. It would not be far out of the ordinary for an individual to have two or more such letters on his person, especially if he were seeking work or moving to a new town where outsiders may be scrutinized carefully.

Now if you're a clever person you can think of all sorts of ways to game this relatively simple system, and I've left out some (quite possibly important) details. But, by and large, it worked. Such a system wouldn't be accepted today, precisely because it would be perceived as too easy to create false identities, but fortunately these days we have the technology. We can rebuild it. Better. Stronger. Faster. Excuse me, more securely.

Without getting far into the technical details, a form of this system still exists and has actually been improved upon by security experts over the last couple of decades. The web of trust is this system taken to the next level: it's all done with public-key cryptography. This web of trust is currently used only in sending encrypted data between members of the web, though some very small enhancements and some creative use of technology could be used to extend it to the offline world as an identification mechanism.

This obviously isn't the whole story, but I'm trying to be brief.

I love it Error, count me in!   I also loved this point you made, "It's ironic, then, that the least trustworthy organizations on the planet issue the most widely accepted attestations of identity."

[gri]

I'm going to begin moving forward on building an identification system
for people in the liberty movement here in New Hampshire, and possibly elsewhere.

error,
Can New Hampshire liberty movement community
identify my personality while I am locked in Russia ?

How can a Human become known on the web
if his posts are usually being removed by monkeys in administration ?

Create your gritoadmix on my forum.

[Russell Kanning]

I would be willing to be identified by your proposed system.

Maybe we can add to our Shire cards when your thing is up and running.

[K. Darien Freeheart]

This is an idea I've had before, and many other people on here have as well, so I'm going to begin moving forward on building an identification system for people in the liberty movement here in New Hampshire, and possibly elsewhere. If anyone's interested, this is going to require some time, and maybe investing some money, but I'm pretty sure we can have a system up and running in about a year or two from now.

I've actually been tossing this around in my nogging recently, especially after the pro-state discussion of identity documents that came from HOPE. :S

Sam Konkin III wrote in "The New Libertarian Manifesto" that defensive services needed to arise before the move from agora to full-on free market. A secure and reliable system for identification is a huge part of developing security systems. Count me in on this!

What is a private identification system

Just what the box says. It's a system to prove and verify your identity. The private part of it means that it's done by a non-government agency and by extension, that it's optional. It would be useful especially once other liberty-oriented services begun appearing. Perhaps there's a secure warehousing facility and to access your storage area, you need to provide ID. A private ID would actually be focused on identifying you rather than cataloging your personal data.

how does it differ from other forms of identification?

There's the things I mentioned above, which make it really different, but there's more secure ways to do it. The state driver's license assumes that the document put in the hand of the DMV person is real. This is a pretty stupid assumption. A private ID might require (for example) the endorsement of a trusted party. In the beginning, error or a core group of people implimenting the ID system would certify people they personally know to be legitimately identified. Future applicants, in addition to providing information, may need the certification of a number of people with provend and trusted identities. This kind of "web of trust" could also easily provide a turn-key reputation system which would be useful for ostracism... Anyway... I'm kinda wandering mentally. There's some flaws with the web of trust system, but any single tiered identity system is flawed and I'm sure this is well understood.

[K. Darien Freeheart]

Oh snap, I didn't read error's basic explanation of the web of trust. My post was mostly redundant, but I'm intrigued.

[Puke]

Cool. I've already created three ID cards for Keene area folks and I'm working on a fourth.
I'm interested in this.
I think a really important thing to find out is how to get a real ID card maker.

Google has several links for machines. Google link

Looks like prices range from $1600-$4000 for a single sided printer.
$50 for a pack of 500 (!) white blanks.

[KBCraig]

I suspect Chertoff would only accept such IDs if the government could verify the authenticity of the cards. By, say, having full electronic access to the database and supporting documents.

[error]

I suspect Chertoff would only accept such IDs if the government could verify the authenticity of the cards. By, say, having full electronic access to the database and supporting documents.

Chertoff can bite me. I want an ID that meets the requirements of the people, not the government.

[Russell Kanning]

I agree ... Chertoff just wants more roads that lead to his gang ruling people.

I like this idea more.

[Russell Kanning]

I think a really important thing to find out is how to get a real ID card maker.

a
real id?

snicker

[Raineyrocks]

I suspect Chertoff would only accept such IDs if the government could verify the authenticity of the cards. By, say, having full electronic access to the database and supporting documents.

Chertoff can bite me. I want an ID that meets the requirements of the people, not the government.

   Preach it Error! Amen to that!

[penguins4me]

The question I have in this regard is what defining characteristic will be the primary identifier for a private identification system such as this? I've only seen names used in traditional systems thus far, but are born-names of any real value outside mere convenience?