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daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Anonymous)
Tue Feb 2 07:16:56 1999
Date: Tue, 2 Feb 1999 21:05:01 +0900 (JST)
From: Anonymous <nobody@nowhere.to>
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
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This From: Sptimes.com (St. Petersburg Times, Fla.) January 23, 1999
http://www.sptimes.com/
Florida Has Sold License Photos
http://www.sptimes.com/News/12399/State/Florida_has_sold_lice.html
That's right. The state got a penny from a company in New Hampshire for
your
driver's license picture.
By
KRIS HUNDLEY
If you have a Florida driver's license, the state has sold your photo for a
penny to a New Hampshire company.
Image Data LLC of Nashua, N.H., bought the 14-million pictures for a data
base that it wants to sell to retailers eager to prevent fraud. But its
system has not been proven to be either secure or economically viable for
retailers.
Driver's license information, such as addresses, has been considered public
record and available, for a fee, to anybody from the local newspaper to a
nosy neighbor. But previously, only Florida law enforcement personnel had
access to the photos.
That changed last spring when the Legislature approved a bill that allows
the photos to be sold for fraud prevention uses, raising serious concerns
among privacy advocates about the vast amount of personal information now
available through computers.
Though proponents promise the images will be used only to catch crooks,
Robert Ellis Smith, publisher of the Privacy Journal, said it instead
creates a mugshot file of all law-abiding citizens.
"Whenever the basic principle of privacy is violated it's a bad idea," said
Smith, who is based in Providence, R.I. "Information gathered for one
purpose shouldn't be used for another."
Lorna Christie, spokeswoman for Image Data, said the company's contract
with
Florida strictly limits use of the photos to prevent fraud.
"We're not a marketing company, and there will absolutely be no secondary
uses of these photos," Christie said. Individuals can also opt out of the
program by requesting to have their photo deleted from Image Data's file.
Image Data's identity verification system was tested last summer in South
Carolina, which was the first state to approve the sale of driver's license
photos. Colorado recently agreed to join the program. Both Louisiana and
Image Data's home state of New Hampshire rejected the company's request to
sell license photos two years ago.
Under Image Data's system, when a customer makes a purchase by check and
produces a driver's license, the cashier swipes the driver's license into
Image Data's system. Within seconds, Image Data transmits the photo on file
for that license. No other information about the person is given.
The image, which appears on a screen about the size of a postage stamp, is
only shown for eight seconds, then it disappears. The cashier then decides
if the image matches the person at the register and either accepts or
rejects the check.
"There's no way the cashier could download the image," said Christie, who
said no price has yet been set for the service. "The only thing transmitted
is the image, so why bother? That's not a building block for building an
identity."
Not true, said Winn Schwartau, an expert on computer security issues who
thinks hackers and criminals will have a field day with Image Data's
system.
"Nobody's secure," said Schwartau, who runs a Website
(http://www.infowar.com) on security and privacy issues from his Largo
home.
"When you consider what's already available online -- Social Security
numbers, addresses, buying habits, then you add the photo, you've given the
criminal element the final tool they need to commit any crime they want in
someone else's name."
Rep. Tom Feeney, the Republican from Oviedo who sponsored the amendment
allowing sale of the photos, said he was assured by state law enforcement
that Image Data's system was secure and he doubts that crooks would have
much use for a photo, even if they could access it.
"Maybe there are some possible bad purposes I haven't con-ceived of, but
then, some crooks are brighter than me," Feeney said.
The purpose of his amendment, which was passed the day before the Florida
Legislature concluded its session last spring, was to help retailers avoid
costly check and credit card fraud.
"And if word about it gets out to the criminal class, maybe a few less
wallets and purses will be stolen," said Feeney, who was Gov. Jeb Bush's
running mate during Bush's first gubernatorial campaign in 1994.
But some Florida retailers question the value of Image Data's system, which
could be available in the state by mid-summer. Lori Elliott, spokeswoman
for
Florida Retail Federation, said her group's members support efforts to
deter
fraud. But she notes that many retailers already pay a third party for a
check verification and guarantee service, which guarantees a check will be
paid, even if it turns out to be worthless.
"So why would a retailer want to pay more for an image if the check is
already guaranteed?" Elliott said.
Conrad Szymanski, president of Beall's Department Stores in Bradenton, said
he can see the value of Image Data's system if it worked with credit cards.
"It's a delicate issue," he said. "It could be seen as an invasion of
privacy, but it serves a measurable consumer benefit by making it hard for
people to steal your credit cards, run up your charge accounts and destroy
your credit."
But Szymanski doubts his chain will have much use for Image Data's initial
system, which will only work for check transactions.
"It would be hard for me to buy such a service based on check losses
alone,"
Szymanski said. "It would have to work with credit cards as well or it
would
not fly economically."
Image Data's spokeswoman said the system eventually will be expanded to
handle credit-card transactions. She points out that the company was
founded
two years ago when Bob Houvener, now Image Data's president, had his own
credit cards stolen and run up with fraudulent charges.
"This company has been built from a victim's perspective," Christie said.
"We worked to achieve a balance between protecting the consumer's identity
and giving retailers an effective loss prevention product. And we used a
technology that protects both consumers and businesses."
Schwartau, the security consultant, isn't buying that argument.
He said Image Data's plan is "full of holes" and is destined to be replaced
within a few years by systems that will allow customers to prove their
identity through fingerprint identification.
"Then unless you take my thumb, you can't steal my identity," he said.
© Copyright 1999 St. Petersburg Times.
