New Internet Identification in Korea to Protect Privacy

Image source: Ministry of Information and Communication Republic of Korea

New Internet Identification to Protect Privacy
From Digital Chosun Ilbo (English Edition)

Korea is adopting a new identification system for website access from 2007 to protect users' privacy. Those who want to join a website will no longer register with their real name and resident registration number, but will use a personal identification number (PIN) assigned by a credit-rating agency or certified authentication institute.

The Ministry of Information and Communication said Monday it settled on five identification methods to guard against theft of personal information after a series of high-profile crimes where hackers obtained access to users online banking accounts. The methods include three via credit-rating agencies and two via certified authentication institutes; the ministry wants online firms to adopt more than one of them. " If lawmakers pass the Personal Information Protection Act next year, major web portals and online game providers will have to adopt an alternative to resident registration numbers from 2007",ministry official Lee Seong-ok said.

Links:

Is privacy cure worse than the disease? Some say yesJoongang Ilbo, South Korea
Foolproof ID to Be Adopted for Online Registration Korea Times
Korea to introduce new ID system for internet services Korea Herald
On the Net, your history lingers Joongang Ilbo

SWAMI (AmI & Privacy)

SWAMI (Safeguards in a World of Ambient Intelligence) is a FP6 Project (European R&D Research Programme). This project aims to identify and analyse the social, economic, legal, technological and ethical issues related to identity, privacy and security in the forecasted but not yet deployed Ambient Intelligence (AmI) environment.

WORK PACKAGE

Work package 1 (WP1) consists of a state of the art review of existing AmI projects, studies, scenarios and roadmaps.

Work package 2 (WP2) deals with developing "dark" (adverse) scenarios, the aim of which will be to expose key socio-economic, legal, technological and ethical risks and vulnerabilities related to issues such as identity, privacy and security.

Work package 3 (WP3) develops legal and policy options which could serve as safeguards and privacy-enhancing mechanisms for Ambient Intelligence.

Work package 4 (WP4) focusses on dissimination of project results, continuously throughout the project. There are two validation and awareness-raising workshops foreseen. A final conference at the end of the project is also planned.

SWAMI Partners:

Fraunhofer Institute Systems and Innovation Research (Germany)
Institute for Prospective Technological Studies, DG-JRC, European Commission (Spain)
Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium)
Technical Research Centre of Finland , VTT Electronics (Finland)
Trilateral Research & Consulting (UK)

There is available this report: The brave new world of ambient intelligence: A state-of-the-art review.

Links:
About Ambient Intelligence (Open Course Ware MIT) Course available
Philips Research: Ambient Intelligence

theBiometrix

Few days ago, we talked about the new european biometrics web site, Europeanbiometrics.info, and there is another Forum: The Biometrix

TheBIOMETRIX.COM was founded in mid January 2005 by a group of enthusiastic researchers & web developers from the UK, USA, Romania, Greece & Morocco.

The forum is easy to use and has numerous helpful features for free, once you have registered you can check the FAQ section, where you can find answers for your questions and how theBIOMETRIX.com forum functions.

US Passports and RFID

Photo Source: State Department

All U.S. passports will be implanted with computer chips starting next October, the State Department said Tuesday.


Links:

SFGates
Silicon.com
InformationWeek
RFID Journal
ABC News

What European Consumer think about RFID

Capgemini, one of the world's foremost providers of Consulting, Technology and Outsourcing services, published Capgemini in February 2005, this report RFID and Consumers: What European Consumers Think About RFID and the Implications for Business.

" European consumers are beginning to recognise that Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology will bring real benefits to their everyday lives, reveals new research from Capgemini. The majority of respondents said they would buy RFID-enabled products if they meant potentially reducing car theft (70% of those surveyed), faster recovery of stolen items (68%) and improved security of prescription drugs (63%). Additional benefits of RFID identified as important to consumers include improved food safety and quality; faster, more reliable notification of recalls; and faster exit through store checkouts.

However, the study also found that concerns over privacy issues threaten to overshadow the benefits of RFID. More than half (55%) of those surveyed are either concerned or very concerned that RFID tags will allow businesses to track consumers via product purchases, while 59% are worried that RFID tags will allow data to be used more freely by third parties. " (Source Cap Gemini)