Biometrics AREN'T safe!

According to the Register, Dutch researchers have managed to hack into their compulsory, biometric ID cards.

The crack is attributed to Delft smartcard security specialist Riscure, which here explains that an attack can be executed from around 10 metres and the security broken, revealing date of birth, facial image and fingerprint, in around two hours. Riscure notes that that the speed of the crack is aided by the Dutch passport numbering scheme being sequential.

According to the Dutch Interior Ministry ways to improve the security of the passport are being looked at. But note that they say "improve", not "fix".

How long would it take to hack into the ones over here?

Troop build-up

The government are sending more than 4000 extra troops to southern Afghanistan.

A quick look at the ClustrMap thingy on my blog shows that southern Afghanistan borders Iran… Say no more.

More protest convictions

Five more bastards have been convicted of getting in the way of the business of our Deal Leader:

Everyone charged was convicted and fined £50 with a year's conditional discharge so if they get in any trouble this charge will be taken into account and could be made more serious. Previous cases have received higher fines so that could be seen as progress. Although for the people involved, the criminal convictions will do more damage than the fine.

Emma defended herself and called a few witnesses, Brian Haw and 2 coppers who both looked like army recruits speaking in robotic voices. The police testimony was rather amusing and possibly the highlight of an otherwise rather boring day in court. Emma was kept to the individual charges in her questioning so couldn't really get Brian talking about the background as much as she seemed to want to. In the end she adopted the other defendants argument and was sentenced with the rest.

Deja-vu all over again

According to the Irish paper the Evening Echo, if the ID Cards Bill is passed, then Ireland will adopt ID cards as well, albeit on a voluntary basis for those who regularly visit the UK.

Hmm… the English oppressing the Irish, why does that seem familiar?

Try, try again

There’s a great post on Obsolete on the numerous justifications that the government has tried to come up with for ID cards, all of which have been pulled apart.

It also has this:

Perhaps the best criticism though came from Lord Philips, who quoted a Labour politician who attacked the then Tory plans for ID cards by saying the money should be used on more police instead. That Labour politician? Tony Blair.

If the Tories do it it’s a bad idea, if Bliar does it it’s a good idea…

LSE ID cards report

An updated version of the London School of Economics’ report on ID Cards has been published.

Includes this on page iii):

We are extremely concerned at the ongoing culture of secrecy endemic in the planning of the identity cards proposals. The Home Office has conducted most of its work in a covert fashion, refusing to disclose information that would inform debate, and conducting negotiations in a closed environment. This process is inimical to the creation of trust. This situation also makes further research on the proposals impossible.

We find it incomprehensible that Parliament has been denied crucial information about costs. We cannot see a justification for any claim of commercial secrecy and believe this assertion is misleading.

We are mystified as to why, after three in the planning, no government department has either signed up to the scheme or has provided published material on costs and benefits. We conclude that there still exists widespread uncertainty and scepticism about the proposals to an extent that may make the scheme unworkable at a level that goes beyond even that predicted in our first report.

The main part is that they predict they'll cost £500.00 each!

UPDATE: The House of Lords have voted to force the govt to disclose the full costs of ID cards before they can become law.

We'll have to see if the govt are able to overturn this in the Commons (hope not).

4 more guilty of protesting

Four more people have been found guilty of the heinous crime of protesting near Parliament.

On the SOCPA offences there were three 12-month conditional discharges of which two had to pay £150 costs, and the third (Mr. Simpson who had not presented evidence) only £50 costs. Because of the unspent conditional discharge, the fourth defendant had to pay £100 fine for the previous public order offence, £100 for the new SOCPA offence, plus the £150 costs (ouch!!). For the obstruction offence, Maria had to pay an additional £100 fine.

Bastards! Hanging’s too good for ‘em!

Mysteriously, one of those arrested and put in a police van then disappeared from the record. Police claim to have no knowledge of him. What was his 'get out' card? Possible explanations might be that he was some sort of 'agent provocateur' - he was standing very near the megaphone throughout the half an hour or so leading up to the arrests. Alternatively, he was in some other way in cahoots with the police.

The next SOCPA case will be heard next week on the 18th at Bow Street, and 'Picnicker Mark' will be defending himself in court. After that, the arrestees from Sunday 7th August will be in court from the 23rd and on 22nd Feb., lone demonstrator Barbara Tucker (who held up a banner 'I am not the serious organised criminal' outside parliament just before Xmas) will appear in court. In the meantime, it is likely that today's defendants will be appealing against their convictions.

According to the Parliament Protest blog, the judge didn’t rule on how the Human Rights Act applied to the act. Hopefully, the defendant’s will manage to get it declared incompatible and the “Designated Area” quashed on appeal.

UPDATE: Bloggerheads have more on the guy who was whisked away; he's the spitting image of Detective Seargent John Pickersgill., who works for the Metorpolitan Police, i.e. (non-City of) London police!

I've put Bloggerheads' wanted poster on the right-hand side if anyone has more info.

Worst technology of 2006

The latest issue of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ Spectrum magazine lists the five worst technology projects of 2006, one of which is the ID card plan. The summary they give is that “The design of the system is based on unreliable and inadequate technologies that could result in privacy and security problems”.

How SCOPA works II

Interesting article on Indymedia about how the Parliament protest ban works in practice:

A pattern is emerging that police only arrest people when they think that they can get away with it without much media attention:

• When American anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan came over to meet Brian Haw in parliament square in December, police issued a SCOPA warning telling them to disperse, but as the deadline passed, a crowd of up to a 100 people staged a full-scale demonstration, marching up to the gates of Downing Street with banners and chants, and because of the sensitive nature of any arrests in the week Maya Evans had appeared all over the media, they backed down and allowed the protest to continue.


• Just before Christmas, a 'carol-singing' congregation in Parliament Square listened and cheered while Brian Haw harangued the government, and a megaphone was briefly used illegally. The crowd numbered more than a hundred, and yet the police failed to investigate, and studiously ignored the throng rather than be reported by the attendant media as arresting carol-singers.


• The previous day however, Barbara Tucker had been arrested and charged under the act for standing alone outside parliament with a placard stating, "I am not the organised criminal". There were no press around on that occasion.


• Today, media attended the ceremony, and so despite the fact it was virtually a rerun of Maya’s offence (though with a larger crowd of 9 rather than 2!), the police watched but did not act. When questioned, one of them said they were just keeping an eye on things and said, "We're not all bastards".


• On the 18th an activist is due in court - he was attending a picnic at parliament square in august, and was nicked for wearing an A4- size placard around his neck stating 'Protest my Right'. And yet today, one of the participants was wearing the exact same banner in full view of the police but was not even warned let alone arrested. Press included Spanish TV, London Tonight, Channel 4, News of the World, and the London Evening Standard. Could this explain the police reticence? Another banner asked for a public inquiry into the London bombings.
  

That’s it; next time in within the “Designated Area,” I’m taking a video-camera & boom.

Memo leaked by Labour MPs

From the Guardian:

Two Labour MPs have defied the Official Secrets Act by passing on the contents of a secret British document revealing how President George Bush wanted to bomb the Arabic TV station, al-Jazeera.

David Keogh, a Cabinet Office employee, is charged with leaking information damaging to international relations to Leo O'Connor, researcher to Tony Clarke, former MP for Northampton South. The two are due to appear in court tomorrow for committal hearings.

Mr Kilfoyle, MP for Liverpool Walton and a former defence minister, said last night: "It's very odd we haven't been prosecuted. My colleague Tony Clarke is guilty of discussing it with me and I have discussed it with all and sundry.

I agree with their comments… why haven’t they been prosecuted?

"Voluntary" ID cards

From the Metro (dead-tree version):

Town halls could be given the power to fine households that have not applied for proposed ID cards.

The recommendation comes despite ministerial promises that the ID card will be voluntary.

Unless Labour have come with an entirely new definition of the word “voluntary, ”that is…

The proposal, which says councils can check electoral registers to see who has not applied for a card and fine them up to £2500.00, was contained in the small print of a Department of Constitutional Affairs [who have the ironic motto: Justice, Rights & Democracy] document released during the Christmas holidays [see p. 49], it was reported yesterday.

Nothing like being open and honest…

The Telegraph also has it, as well as a Leader article about the whole thing.

How SCOPA 2005 works

From the Friday Project: (via the Bloggerheads comments)

THE SERIOUS ORGANISED CRIME AND POLICE ACT - AN ABSOLUTELY GENUINE PHONE CALL FROM A TFT CONTRIBUTOR Ring, ring. Ring, ring.
Click.

'Hello, New Scotland Yard, how may I help you?'

'Hello, I wonder if you can help me?'

'Muh.'

'Good. I've just been looking at the map of your protest exclusion zone around Parliament Square.''It's not an exclusion zone, sir.'

'Muh?'

'It's not an exclusion zone. If you want to protest, you need to get permission. We're not excluding protest.’

'Muh.'

'How exactly can I help you, sir?'

'Well, the funny thing is, I was looking at your exclusion...'

'Permission.'

'Permission zone around Parliament Square and I realised my new flat is right smack-bang in the middle of it.'

'And?'

'I have a question.'

'Yes?'

'Well, you see, I have a roof terrace which can be seen from the road. I was just wondering whether I'd be allowed to protest there if I wanted to? I'm just worried about being arrested and having all my banners torn up.'

'Who owns the property, sir?'

'I do.'

'And who are you planning on protesting against?'

'Muh?'

'Who are you planning to protest against?'

'Does that matter? The point is whether it's now illegal for me to protest on my own roof... Let's say I'm protesting against myself.'

'Are you planning to protest against yourself?'

'Well, I don't like myself very much at the moment, so let's say yes...’

'Then that's a good question, sir. I'll have to put you through to my colleague who deals with SOCPA at Bloomsbury.'

'OK.'

Ring, ring. Ring... Click.

'Hello?'

'Yes... protest... exclusion...'

'Permission...'

'Sorry, protest... permission... roof terrace... myself...'

'Let me look at my map. Well, as far as I know, as no-one would be likely to complain if you were to protest against yourself...'

'They might.'

'It's unlikely.'

'OK. Forget me then. What about if I was protesting against my neighbour?'

'On your roof?'

'Yes.'

'Well, then that would depend whether they were likely to see it and be upset by it.'

'Not see it and not be upset? OK. Got it. Oh, only thing is, my neighbour is the Home Office.'

'Muh.'

'Sorry.'

'Well, if you're protesting against the Government and they were likely to see the protest then you'd need to come in and have a chat with us.'

'Oh, right, OK. But only if I'm likely to upset them.'

'What do you mean, sir?'

'Well, if I protested *for* the Government that would be OK?'

'*For* the Government? You mean protesting in favour of the Government?'

'Essentially, yes.'

'Then that wouldn't be a protest.'

'Got it. So it's only illegal if I'm protesting against the Government in a way that might upset them?'

'Yes, no. That's not what I actually said.'

'Oh, I'm terribly sorry. What did you actually say?'

'I said that if you wanted to protest against the Government on your roof terrace then you should come in and have a chat with us first.'

'But only if I'm protesting against the Government.'

'That's right.'

'In a way that might upset them.'

'That's right.'

'Otherwise I might be arrested?'

'It's possible, sir, yes.'

'Ok. Thanks.'

'Thank you sir, is there anything else I can help you with?'

'No. Yes. Are you going to the carol concert in Parliament Square tomorrow?'

'Parliament Square comes under Charing Cross, sir, you'd have to ask them.'

'Right ho! Merry Christmas.'

'Thank you for your call, sir.'

Click.

Transparent Tony

From the latest (dead-tree) issue of Private Eye

“When you’re at school and tell a whopping great lie to get yourself out of trouble, you probably think you’re being clever. In fact, it’s not you at all. It’s Transparent Tony. He likes to sit in children’s hair and whisper half-truths in their ears. A word of warning though. Transparent Tony is the worst liar in the whole world, because everyone can see straight through him. So, if you are telling a lie, and you think it’s one of Tony’s, stop! Nobody will be fooled.” Rix, J. (1992) Ghostly Tales for Ghastly Kids.

At last! I don’t have to call the bastard “Poodle” or “Bliar”. From now on it’s Transparent Tony!

Note to self: buy this book…