The ACLU of Michigan is urging Michigan residents to pressure Gov. Jennifer Granholm to withdraw an agreement signed with the Department of Homeland Security that commits the state to begin offering an Enhanced Driver’s License (EDL) later this year. The group issued a press release arguing that the new licenses could put privacy at risk:
Under the current agreement with DHS, the Michigan Enhanced Driver’s License, one of three accepted pieces of identification for border crossing starting this June, requires the inclusion of an unencrypted “radio frequency identification” chip (RFID) in the license. RFID’s can store huge amounts of personal data and, when unsecured like proposed in the DHS agreement, can be accessed wirelessly by anyone with a reading device from 30 feet up to, according to some experts, a football field away.
At least one state legislator, Rep. Paul Opsommer (R-DeWitt), has joined the call to stop this program and is asking the governor to have the state’s newly created Information Privacy Protection Council review the agreement to make sure it does not put private information at risk.
Kelly Chesney, spokesperson for the Michigan Department of State, which oversees the issuing of driver’s licenses in the state, told Gonger News Service that such fears are unfounded:
“The RFID chip doesn’t contain any personal information, only a randomly-generated unique number that lets border officials quickly verify your identity so you can be on your way. It doesn’t make sense to encrypt a random number. Plus, it comes with a protective sleeve that would prevent the random number from being scanned if that is a concern….
Read the full story here http://michiganmessenger.com/17108/aclu-of-michigan-opposes-enhanced-drivers-licenses
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There are RFID sensors all over the highway here in Chicago. It’s really obvious, they point perpendicular to traffic and can not be used for speed measurement at such an angle. What im talking about are the little white boxes that point down on the highway at 45 degree angles on a pole with solar panels…
All you have to do is microwave your license for 10 seconds…..Ding…..RIFD chip gone
Just nuke the card & it’s de-RFID’d ? cool !
now, how do I nuke my hand if (God forbid) some boogeyman slips a chip under my skin without my consent ?
It is hard to say which is creepier: The GPS positioning combined with the invasive census questionnaire OR the “Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative” combined with the “Enhanced Driver’s License” with biometric information. Hitler would have been so very proud of us — SHOW YOUR PAPERS!
It is possible to tell, this
exception to the rules
Interesting site, but much advertisments on him. Shall read as subscription, rss.
suppressedminds.com – cool!!!!