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I don't see how this helps at all in a remote setting. National ID numbers aren't private and could be stolen just as easily. Unless you truly have a national

I don't see how this helps at all in a remote setting. National ID numbers aren't private and could be stolen just as easily. Unless you truly have a national ID equivalent to like a Yubikey / 2-factor auth (I don't think anyone does) this just changes the implementation.

only_as_i_fall 5y ago
Eh, I think the issue is that because there's no central system, every institution that needs to verify identity latches onto systems that were never intended for that purpose (such as ssn). The use of a bunch of different systems means that it'd hard to do simple things like verify that an applicant is actually a living person or that the same persons info isn't being used across multiple counties, states etc... Obviously there are a number of potential pitfalls in any such system, but I have to believe that even a flawed system which was intentionally designed would be harder to exploit than a hodgepodge of 100 incidental systems.
- nickff 5y ago
  Won't any system as valuable as national ID be vulnerable to similar attacks as SSN? The problem seems to be that American ID is extremely valuable; it will suffer more attacks than almost any other national ID, just because of the sheer amount of money involved.
  - only_as_i_fall 5y ago
    No, because a much better system could be designed if we planned on using it for id verification from the start. Some easy improvements even keeping a number based system would be: 1) don't assign ID numbers sequentially and based on location of birth 2) have consistent laws about who can collect these and liability for leaks (like hipaa) 3) allow them to be changed in cases of theft But we could actually do much better by using asymmetric cryptography.
ajsnigrutin 5y ago
You don't hide the ID number, you show the card itself. In slovenia (and other former yugoslav countries) we have a unique ID for every person here.. It's set up from the date of birth (0101021 - 1. jan. 2021), then two digits for the foreign yugoslav state (50 for slovenia), then a tri-digit counter for each birth (first person born that day is 001, and so on), and one digit for the checksum, which can be easily calculated.... so basically, with a calculator and 2 minutes of typing in the numbers, you can calculate a valid ID number. But to open a bank account, you show the ID, which has any-copying measures (like money has), a photo, a serial number (to be cancelled if stolen), and only then the bank creates a new bank account for you. You can also use the same card to buy alcohol and travel through many european countries (no need for a passport).

only_as_i_fall 5y ago

Eh, I think the issue is that because there's no central system, every institution that needs to verify identity latches onto systems that were never intended for that purpose (such as ssn). The use of a bunch of different systems means that it'd hard to do simple things like verify that an applicant is actually a living person or that the same persons info isn't being used across multiple counties, states etc... Obviously there are a number of potential pitfalls in any such system, but I have to believe that even a flawed system which was intentionally designed would be harder to exploit than a hodgepodge of 100 incidental systems.

nickff 5y ago
Won't any system as valuable as national ID be vulnerable to similar attacks as SSN? The problem seems to be that American ID is extremely valuable; it will suffer more attacks than almost any other national ID, just because of the sheer amount of money involved.
- only_as_i_fall 5y ago
  No, because a much better system could be designed if we planned on using it for id verification from the start. Some easy improvements even keeping a number based system would be: 1) don't assign ID numbers sequentially and based on location of birth 2) have consistent laws about who can collect these and liability for leaks (like hipaa) 3) allow them to be changed in cases of theft But we could actually do much better by using asymmetric cryptography.

ajsnigrutin 5y ago

You don't hide the ID number, you show the card itself. In slovenia (and other former yugoslav countries) we have a unique ID for every person here.. It's set up from the date of birth (0101021 - 1. jan. 2021), then two digits for the foreign yugoslav state (50 for slovenia), then a tri-digit counter for each birth (first person born that day is 001, and so on), and one digit for the checksum, which can be easily calculated.... so basically, with a calculator and 2 minutes of typing in the numbers, you can calculate a valid ID number. But to open a bank account, you show the ID, which has any-copying measures (like money has), a photo, a serial number (to be cancelled if stolen), and only then the bank creates a new bank account for you. You can also use the same card to buy alcohol and travel through many european countries (no need for a passport).