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> Identity verification using passports is not the problem. Identity verification by exclusively looking at pictures of passports is the problem. I think anoth

by JadeNB 9y ago

> Identity verification using passports is not the problem. Identity verification by exclusively looking at pictures of passports is the problem. I think another significant part of the problem is the fact that sending someone a picture of your passport means that they, and anyone with whom they choose to share it, thereafter permanently have a picture of your passport. For example, I would have no problem if I were somehow able to audit these companies' use of the passport data and to make sure it was used responsibly and deleted after use. (I would compare to the way that I see everything a customs officer does with my passport, but of course that's not really true, since I have no idea what processing is going on on their computer. However, whatever they've got on the computer comes from access to government databases, to which (hopefully!) private companies don't have access.)

garmaine 9y ago
“Prove you are who you say you are by sending us your bank password. Oh, and we’ll keep it on file indefinitely.”
londons_explore 9y ago
Most modern passports have the ability to sign things with a secret key. Most phones have NFC to talk to passports. If only websites said 'sign this text with your passport to prove who you are', that would be excellent security. Sadly, I think the barrier to this today is iphones lackluster NFC support and androids browsers which don't let you talk NFC directly (hence requiring a special app).
- JadeNB 9y ago
  > Most modern passports have the ability to sign things with a secret key. Really? How? I have a fairly recent US passport, and the ability to do it is not clear. (Genuinely curious—this sounds like a neat thing to be able to do.)
  - londons_explore 9y ago
    The NFC chip in the passport (the wire loop antenna on the page with your photo on) has a bunch of commands you can send it. Only passports made in the last 5 years or so have this. Old passports are paper only and have no such smartness... Hook up an NFC debugger app on an android phone and put your passport next to the phone and you can send it commands. Different countries passports vary, and take different commands etc.
- zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC 9y ago
  Except it's not, because it makes a black box the arbiter of legal obligations, and judges get the role of signing off on whatever the black box says.

by JadeNB 9y ago

garmaine 9y ago

“Prove you are who you say you are by sending us your bank password. Oh, and we’ll keep it on file indefinitely.”

londons_explore 9y ago

Most modern passports have the ability to sign things with a secret key. Most phones have NFC to talk to passports. If only websites said 'sign this text with your passport to prove who you are', that would be excellent security. Sadly, I think the barrier to this today is iphones lackluster NFC support and androids browsers which don't let you talk NFC directly (hence requiring a special app).

JadeNB 9y ago
> Most modern passports have the ability to sign things with a secret key. Really? How? I have a fairly recent US passport, and the ability to do it is not clear. (Genuinely curious—this sounds like a neat thing to be able to do.)
- londons_explore 9y ago
  The NFC chip in the passport (the wire loop antenna on the page with your photo on) has a bunch of commands you can send it. Only passports made in the last 5 years or so have this. Old passports are paper only and have no such smartness... Hook up an NFC debugger app on an android phone and put your passport next to the phone and you can send it commands. Different countries passports vary, and take different commands etc.
zAy0LfpBZLC8mAC 9y ago
Except it's not, because it makes a black box the arbiter of legal obligations, and judges get the role of signing off on whatever the black box says.