Anyone know more about this BT "uk identity verification" scheme?

[Philip Perry]

A typical BT c*ck up.  The false rejection ratio will be astronomical, for
example:

* students living away from home
* shared flats (name not on electricity bill)
* new houses (lots of them if John Prescott has his way)
* recently moved house
* everyone under 17
* people who don't register to vote
* people who cannot register (foreign nationals etc, members of the House of
Lords, etc.)

....plus the normal number of dubious records on the databases (5-10%),
means this is unworkable and, basically, not fit for purpose.

As far as the governement is concerned, the identification criteria have
already been published and, guess what, does not work this way.

Regards,

Phil Perry

----- Original Message -----
From: "David Howe" <DaveHowe@gmx.co.uk>
To: "Email List: UK Crypto" <UKCrypto@bigfoot.com>
Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 10:46 AM
Subject: Anyone know more about this BT "uk identity verification" scheme?


> http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2808281.stm
>
> BT scheme to fight ID fraud
>
> BT has launched an ID verification scheme that it hopes will become the
> universal system for government and businesses wanting to check
> identities on the net.
>
> URU (You Are You) is designed to make identity mix-ups such as the
> recent arrest of pensioner Derek Bond in South Africa as one of the
> FBI's most wanted men far less common, say the developers of the system.
>
> Businesses or governments needing to check identities need to enter the
> details of the person into the database.
>
> The system then trawls through databases such as the Electoral Roll, the
> Death Register and the Post Office Address File.
>
> The scheme is a joint venture between BT and the data capture firm, the
> GB Group.
>
> Two billion transactions each year in the UK require ID authentication
>
> 200 million in financial services
>
> 1.5 billion in retail
>
> 800 million in government
>
> In phase one, the only details that will be entered are name, address
> and Meter Point Asset Number - the number in the corner of every
> household electricity bill which is unique to that property.
>
> The electricity industry has agreed to allow BT to use the number for
> verification purposes only.
>
> There are an estimated two billion transactions in the UK each year
> which require authentication of identity, 800 million alone in
> government.
>
> "URU will be a major ingredient in transforming and joining up
> government," said Mike Stone, general manager of BT Stepchange.gov, a
> division of the telephone company which works on government web
> services.
>
> It could also become a pre-requisite of any universal ID card, if the
> government decides to launch one, said BT.
>
> "We envisage that URU will become ubiquitous for citizens, businesses
> and government and we predict that in 10 years' time, 90% of ID checks
> will be done in this way," he added.
>
> Initially the system is being trialled by well-known retail banks, he
> said.
>
> According to BT the system complies with data privacy laws and will not
> disclose any information about the person to the company checking ID.
>
> It also requires the person to agree to have the check run and will
> e-mail them every time their ID is requested, offering a further
> safeguard against identity theft.
>
> "It is a pro-active way to protect your identity," said Chris Gahan,
> Data Development Manager at BT Ignite, the web services division of BT
> that is responsible for the scheme.
>
> But not everyone is convinced it will be a panacea to the problem of
> checking IDs.
>
> "These systems can easily become impenetrable monopolies," said Head of
> Privacy International Simon Davies.
>
> "Each government department already has a way of checking identity and
> the question is why do we need mega-systems" he added.
>
>
>
>
>
>