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It was said by David Blunkett that loyalty cards which we sign up for readily are much scarier in term of privacy issues than national identity cards. He said it was about time someone looked into how the personal data was stored by such operators.

How much information do these cards keep about us and are they truly comparable to ID cards?

Government ID cards would contain biometrics like fingerprints and iris scans and be compulsory by 2013 and would hold information from medical details, benefit entitlements and possibly criminal records and be available to the police and the necessary authorities.

But how much information do loyalty cards really store about us and is it fair to compare them to state ID cards?

Schemes like Nectar are voluntary and collect limited personal information on shopping habits and are regulated by the Data Protection Act of 1988.

Basic information like name, address, sex, and contact details are provided on sign up and people can choose to opt out of certain questions they are uncomfortable with like numbers in the household, number of cars etc.

Members can also choose whether or not to provide additional information such as how many people there are in their household, how many cars they own and where they shop.

After this, when the card is used to collect points, details of the date, location and points earned - but not what was actually bought - are sent to Nectar.

The data is stored in one of the country’s largest databases and is not shared or sold on. An explanation of what the data will be used for is provided on sign up and opt out options are provided.

Brian Sinclair, Loyalty Management UK’s client services director, says:

Not only do we not collect information on what brand of toothpaste you’re buying but to be honest, we don’t care.

We do not capture information about what’s actually in people’s shopping baskets, though others may do.

However, members, such as Sainsbury’s may also use the scheme to gain more detailed information on the products bought, which they will be used for marketing purposes.

Every citizen in India after the next census in 2011 is to be issued finger biometrics and photographs integrated with their individual records in the Multi-Purpose National Identity Cards (MNIC).
It has been proposed that data collection for preparation of National Population Register (NPR) for the country would be undertaken along with the 2011 census, mostly because the logistical and financial requirement for the national roll-out will be “enormous”,.

Every citizen above 18 years of age will be given the new Smart Cards which will carry a National Identity Number.

A senior MHA official said

The new initiative seeks to address emerging security related concerns of the Border Management Division of the Union Home Ministry.

The fund will be utilised to undertake development of indigenous technology for multi-lingual data search, extraction and matching of finger print.

The Smart Cards will be produced by a consortium of central public sector undertakings (CPSUs), after being awarded the project this year.

This MNIC project runs in parallel to the Unique Identification Scheme being implemented by the Department of Information Technology at the request of the Planning Commission.

The electoral roll database of the Election Commission is used for functioning of the scheme, under which a resident database would be created for better targeting of Government-sponsored programmes and schemes.

Ten councils are going to share and access each other’s confidential information using Microsoft Windows CardSpace information cards.

By using their online Ids they will be able to share internal documents.
The ten councils involved are:

Kent County Council, London Borough of Bromley, Wakefield Metropolitan District Council the Isle of Man, London Borough of Lewisham, Metropolitan Borough Council, Sunderland City Council, Derby City Council, Warwick District Council and Rotherham London Borough of Newham.

The authentication process of the cardspace cards takes place in a secure internal (local) environment so the users are not likely to be victimised by phishing attacks that are more commonly seen on the Internet. Phishing is when an unauthorised entity attempts to get your credentials by pretending to be a site you trust.
Geoff Connell, London Borough of Newham and Chairman of the Shared Learning Group, comments:

To our knowledge, this is the world’s first information card implementation in the public sector. However, recent security breaches have highlighted the need to enhance IT security in governmental organisations. Using information cards makes it easier for the group to share information in a secure manner. In addition to extra security, Eduserv’s technology saves us valuable time and administrative resources.

A British criminologist has warned that the advent of ID cards may mean the problem of identity theft actually increases rather than it being solved.

Dr Emily Finch, from the University of East Anglia said that a growing dependence on technology was leading to less self vigilance, which is still the best protection against identity theft and fraud.

There is a worrying assumption that advances in technology will provide the solution to identity theft whereas it is possible that they may actually aggravate the problem.

During her research, Finch interviewed thieves and fraudsters and asked about the impact new technology would have on their crimes. Unsurprisingly, new security measures just mean that criminals adopt new methods in their crimes.

Considering the UK government’s proposed ID card scheme, Finch said that the cards could potentially increase fraudulent activity.

What fraudsters know about is human nature and they adapt to things like the Internet which provides an absolutely fantastic base to access personal information.

Although ministers insist that national identity cards would help prevent terrorism, crime and illegal immigration, critics say that the scheme won’t manage identity fraud, crime or any of the other problems the government claims they will.

The Conservative party leader David Cameron has insisted that his party would abolish the national ID card if they were elected.

The British government is having a major review of its current plans to introduce the multi billion pound digital ID card scheme. Meanwhile, it is insisting that it will help in the global fight against terrorism, will aid immigration control and will reduce benefit fraud.

But at the recent Conservative party conference in Bournemouth, David Cameron stated that the ID card scheme was a good example of government waste and their false promises.

On the digital ID card scheme, he said:

When a half-way competent government would be protecting our security by controlling our borders, these Labour ministers are pressing ahead with their vast white elephant, their plastic poll tax, 20 Millennium Domes rolled into one giant catastrophe in the making.

In just one of the Tory policies mentioned at this week’s conference, David Cameron said:

ID cards are wrong, they’re a waste of money, and we will abolish them.

Mr Cameron also slated the government’s handling of the NHS National Programme for IT, which has suffered delays and recently saw the pull out of its lead contractor, Accenture.

Since I’m sure the government already has a lot of information about me, why do we need ID cards in the first place?

This is true, albeit on medical records or information related to your driving license, the government does have information about individuals related to certain issues.

Lots of private companies such as those with customer loyalty cards like Tesco or Sainsbury’s have information related to their shoppers’ habits and certain basic name and address details. The government and we ourselves do not have a completely failsafe way of truly proving our identity. The previously used ways of linking to our identity - photograph and signature- are now not enough, especially in the current climate of increased identity fraud.

Digital ID cards will link basic personal details to something unique to yourself- for example the pattern of your iris, the shape of your face or your fingerprint. As this type of information isn’t able to be forged, it will protect your identity from people falsely claiming to be you and make it much easier for you to be able to prove your identity when needed; when opening a bank account for example or moving house, when starting a job or claiming for benefits.

As we move towards ID cards in the UK, here’s a quick look at what other countries are already doing with their citizens.

In France ID cards are voluntary, police can ask for ID confirmation but not demand to see the card. It is used when opening bank accounts and for financial dealings and also as a travel document inside the EU. Personal information is on the card but no biometrics. It isn’t used for health or education services.

In Germany, ID cards are compulsory. They are used when dealing with the police, government and customs. PIN and other personal details are included.

Also in Italy, ID cards are compulsory and police can request to see them. They are used to open bank accounts, other financial dealings and for EU travel purposes. These cards contain basic personal details but no biometric data. They are not used to get health or educational services.

Both Japan and the US do not have compulsory ID cards, although President Bush has called for them in America in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Both countries do have photo driving licenses which can be used as ID and to prove identity. In Japan, foreigners need Alien Registration cards for tax, health and public services.

It is firmly believed that the benefits will far outweigh the costs of this scheme.

Most of the costs incurred are because of having to incorporate biometric data into present documents like passports.

About 80% of this cost will have to be spent anyway just to implement secure biometric passports and similarly with these passports, the costs of issuing ID cards will be recovered from fees.

The National Identity Scheme (NIS) was designed to make the most of the essential cost of updating UK passports by extending the use of biometric data to cover the 20% of the population without a passport.

This means that with a small extra cost a secure national identity scheme can be implemented which will bring far reaching benefits to the UK.

Some of these are: reduced unauthorised benefit claims and public service usage, reduced illegal immigration and illegal working, and decreased organised crime and terrorism. UK citizens themselves will also benefit from the scheme of introducing digital ID cards and the overall costs will be funded from fees. The principle is established already for documents such as passports and residential permits which need upgrading in line with international standards.

The law in Japan means that smoking is illegal for anyone under the age of 20; however, Japanese high school girls have seen it as a sign of sophistication. Cigarettes were available freely through vending machines, which also served snacks and fizzy drinks.

New technology has introduced digital ID cards, otherwise referred to as ‘tobacco passports’ which are required to buy cigarettes. As of 2008, Japan’s ‘Tobacco Institute’ has meant people have had to carry the smoker ID cards – ‘taspos’, meaning tobacco passports. These also included age data. The old vendors are being removed and the new ones only work if you scan the taspos or you cannot get cigarettes from them.

Through the new system, you must pay for the cigarettes by using credit on the card. Some people have been referring to them as ‘pay as you choke’ debit cards. In future, Japanese schoolgirls will probably try to copy European or American schoolgirls and ask their older siblings to buy the cigarettes for them.