"Identity Ecosystem" to Replace Passwords, Strategy Suggests
This is a "draft national strategy" that the Obama Administration released last week.
It sounds really good...in theory. As an IT Professional, I see what they laid out as a boon for hackers and thieves. In the example they gave with the woman who's husband is in the hospital and she's able to do all this stuff with her cell phone, my mind kept going back to "And what happens when she forgets her cell phone on the side table in the waiting room when her husband comes out of surgery, and someone who is desperate for cash or a thief waiting for a chance comes across it?" Now her name, her husband's name, their address, their bank account, possibly credit card information, and social networking sites that might contain other personal information used to verify identity by credit card companies is right there at their fingertips. If a hacker takes control of your computer that contains your Identity then s/he has access to the same or more info.
Yup, I'm paranoid. Technology has made so many things so easy for us, but it has also made Identity Theft possible to the point that it is in the headlines regularly. It's a double-edged sword. There are still too many people who aren't paranoid enough about technology, usernames, passwords, etc. and are prime targets for the nefarious.
All that and one more thing. If it's such a "need" as they claim, why hasn't someone else in the public sector tackled this?
I'm not slamming Obama on this. Frankly I'd think this was a bad idea no matter who came up with it - public or private! But then public sector makes me even more paranoid... :para:
This is a "draft national strategy" that the Obama Administration released last week.
It sounds really good...in theory. As an IT Professional, I see what they laid out as a boon for hackers and thieves. In the example they gave with the woman who's husband is in the hospital and she's able to do all this stuff with her cell phone, my mind kept going back to "And what happens when she forgets her cell phone on the side table in the waiting room when her husband comes out of surgery, and someone who is desperate for cash or a thief waiting for a chance comes across it?" Now her name, her husband's name, their address, their bank account, possibly credit card information, and social networking sites that might contain other personal information used to verify identity by credit card companies is right there at their fingertips. If a hacker takes control of your computer that contains your Identity then s/he has access to the same or more info.
Yup, I'm paranoid. Technology has made so many things so easy for us, but it has also made Identity Theft possible to the point that it is in the headlines regularly. It's a double-edged sword. There are still too many people who aren't paranoid enough about technology, usernames, passwords, etc. and are prime targets for the nefarious.
All that and one more thing. If it's such a "need" as they claim, why hasn't someone else in the public sector tackled this?
I'm not slamming Obama on this. Frankly I'd think this was a bad idea no matter who came up with it - public or private! But then public sector makes me even more paranoid... :para:
