Loss of Privacy

No, this is the old Soviet Union, though the KGB would have loved this new machine. Russia is testing a new ATM that has a lie detector built-in. It is hoped that it will be able to prevent fraud.

Consumers with no previous relationship with the bank could talk to the machine to apply for a credit card, with no human intervention required on the bank’s end.

The machine scans a passport, records fingerprints and takes a three-dimensional scan for facial recognition. And it uses voice-analysis software to help assess whether the person is truthfully answering questions that include “Are you employed?” and “At this moment, do you have any other outstanding loans?”

The big bank involved, Sberbank, whose majority owner is the Russian government, said it intended to install the new machines in malls and bank branches around the country eventually, but had not yet scheduled the rollout. Technology consultants say the machines, if they go into commercial use, would be the banking world’s first use of voice analysis in A.T.M.’s.

Although most Russians are used to and expect this kind of intrusiveness from the government, most people in the West will see these machines as a massive invasion of privacy. Indeed. Who would want to give up so much information to a machine?

A prototype of the machine is on display at Sberbank’s Branch of the Future laboratory in a nondescript office building above a Moscow subway station.

The lab bristles with biometric surveillance technology. When a person walks in, a facial-recognition camera takes note, and an artificial voice cheerily greets known customers. Or, more often, it utters a glum, “Hello, you are not registered,” because only a few of the lab’s staff members have had their faces scanned so far.

Sberbank says that to comply with the part of the privacy law that would prohibit a company from keeping a database of customers’ voice signatures, the bank plans to store customers’ voice prints on chips contained in their credit cards.

Oy vey! What kind of person so readily gives up so many biometric identifiers? In one fail swoop, it gets your passport information, fingerprints, facial scan, voice and video samples, credit card information, and banking information. No thank you.

Today, Russia unveiled a universal ID card that does everything you could ever want it to do. You can use it to rent a car. It’s your credit card. It will pay your bills. It will get you an appointment at the doctor’s office. It can also put your identity at risk.

While many people love the idea of one card that does it all, very few look at the privacy risks involved. They instead see the convenience factor of having to only carry one card instead of several forms of identification. Three years from now, Russians will be using just such a card.

The UEC, which will be a kind of Swiss army knife of plastic cards and serve as a combination of a state electronic ID, driver’s license, car insurance and migration cards among other possible perks, should be available to Russians by 2014, according to the federal law.

Banks are not so sure there will be a benefit to them, so the Russian government must get them to change their minds in the next three years.

Another danger of introducing such a card is the potential for identity fraud, which often plagues countries that have introduced systems of electronic identification and rely heavily on cards similar to the UEC, experts say.

This is especially the case in Western countries, said Timur Aitov, executive director at the Association of Russian Banks. “Until recently, we have had nothing to steal,” he said.

But introducing a card that would hold comprehensive data on citizens could put them at high risk of identity theft.

Medvedev confessed that, to date, the government has not found a good answer to the question of protecting its citizens’ data and he admitted that personal information often circulates on the Internet.

While Medvedev promised that the new card “will improve the lives of tens of millions of people” by cutting through the red tape and allowing Russians to do everything from paying their gas bills to making a doctor’s appointment online, experts see ample potential for the card to turn from a magic wand into a weapon that can be used against its owner through fraud and identity theft.

Cases of fraud involving plastic debit and credit cards in Russia, according to experts, run as high as 1 percent to 1.5 percent of all cards, and not all of them are reported.

ID fraud is becoming more and more of a problem as countries continue to move towards universal IDs.  Many countries do not think thoroughly about the security and identity implications before moving ahead with their schemes.  Russia has three years to ensure that their IDs are as secure as possible.  If they only concern themselves with interoperability between numerous agencies, they will, inevitably, ignore the security risks, harming the very people they aim to protect.

Since there are little details on how the card will be made, we will have to take Medvedev’s word that they will, in the end, only cost $9 each. There are many obstacles to overcome in such an endeavor and taking care to protect individual privacy and identities is a huge task that needs to be overcome before anyone can trust such a card.

Claims that a fingerprint database will make searching for and identifying criminals easier, Russia is set to start their initiative soon.

The measure comes in addition to a new visa regulation that requires all foreigners who want to reside in the Russian Federation to provide their fingerprints when applying for a visa or work permit.

Russian has banned Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf due to concerns over rising right-wing groups in the country.

Russian extremists have attacked migrant workers from poor nations in Central Asia and the Caucasus who come to Russia and often have menial jobs and squalid living conditions. African and Asian students and Russians who do not look Slavic have also been targeted.

The ban was initiated after a regional office of the prosecutor sought new ways to combat extremism and found the book was being distributed in the Ufa region.

“Mein Kampf” has been banned in Germany since the Second World War. In Germany, it is illegal to distribute it except in special circumstances, such as for academic research.

While the majority of the world believes that Mein Kampf is wrong, banning the book is not the way to solve the problem. It is understandable why Russia would take this action, but educating those who believe in racial purity is the only way to combat such attacks from happening. Censorship is not the answer to this problem.

After spending several hours searching for which airports are using full body scanners and what the rules are, the list below details my results. The fact is, most airport websites are useless when giving the information. Schiphol airport has a nice brochure outlining what they’re doing, but most of the information I found comes from various news sites.  Many EU states appear to be waiting for a concise response from the EU Parliament and then issue a united answer.

It appears that nearly everyone is thinking of or already has installed full body scanners. The differences is the type of scanner and whether it’s compulsory or not. Nearly all countries state that they are only doing this on flights to the United States.

The United States has also installed full body scanners at most of their major airports, though, under US law, everyone is supposed to have the option of a pat down as well.

Australia – body scanners will be introduced by early 2011
Belgium – waiting for EU decision
Canada – all airports to get scanners, in Vancouver, US bound passengers are to be targeted first, but have the option of a pat down; suspicious domestic or international travelers will be required to have a full body scan Winnipeg also offers the option of a pat down
China – hasn’t ruled them out, hasn’t decided whether to use them or not
France Charles de Gaulle airport – passengers may request a manual check
Germany – summer 2010 will begin testing
Ireland – seem to be still debating on whether they even want scanners, cost appears to be an issue; nothing noted on the Dublin airport website
Italy – all passengers traveling to the United States would be scanned.  I could not find if this is mandatory or not.
Japan – still deciding if they want them
The Netherlands – at Schiphol you can choose a body scan or pat down. You can download a pdf brochure from Schiphol outlining the details
Nigeria – will be installing them; From the tone of the article, I’d guess they’d be compulsory when it happens.
Russia – body scanners in use in Moscow since 2007, can request a pat down
South Africa – not considering full body scanners at this time
Spain – waiting for EU decision
United Kingdom – all airports mandatory or you do not fly