UK To Get Biometric ID Cards
Reuters is reporting (Yahoo News - British lawmakers back ambitious ID scheme) that Great Britain is going ahead with a new national ID plan. According to the report:

Britain's plans to launch the world's most ambitious biometric identity cards cleared their first hurdle on Tuesday, despite the first revolt against Prime Minister Tony Blair since his re-election...The cards would use biometric technology in fingerprint, face and iris recognition.

I think it is important to be aware of these trends in identification technology while noting that a very good argument can be made (The Mark of the Beast: Tattoos & Branding) that the mark will not be implanted technology at all, but could take the form of a digital watermark or even something as primitive as a tattoo.

Follow The Money
Wired News (Your Money Under More Scrutiny) reports, "Banks are installing anti-money-laundering software on a massive scale. The new systems may help track al-Qaida, but they'll also help track everyone else. Small violations of the law will no longer go unnoticed." Great.

The RFID Future
Government and industry reps are getting together to talk about the future of RFID technology (UPI - RFID Future, Hazards Discussed). I wonder if privacy is high on their list of concerns?

U.S. Delays Biometric Passport Plan
According to this report, (My Way News - U.S. to Delay Stricter Passport Standards), "The Bush administration is putting off plans that could have required visitors from friendly nations to show passports with fingerprint and iris scan information by this fall. Instead, foreigners from 27 counties currently not required to apply for U.S. visas will only need to carry passports with tamperproof digitized photos by Oct. 26, administration and congressional officials said Tuesday." The technology is here, they just got ahead of both the infrastructure and the political will on the part of other governments to make it happen.

Privacy Concerns
Ted Koppel is worried about the privacy implications of the Patriot Act, RFID chips, wireless surveillance and ID theft. In this New York Times op-ed (Take My Privacy, Please!), the respected newsman reviews these concerns and calls for greater transparency and protections for our sensitive private information.

Quote of the Day
"Any power must be an enemy of mankind which enslaves the individual by terror and force, whether it arises under the Fascist or the Communist flag. All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded to the individual." --Albert Einstein

Biometric Bandwagon
Russia is also jumping on the biometric ID bandwagon (AFP - Russia to introduce biometric passports in 2007), though their new passports won't debut until 2007.

Your Papers Please
The post-9-11 environment has been a boon for security companies, especially those that sell biometric ID technology (the kind that is keyed to your body, like your fingerprints, the shape of your face, or your iris). What we have now is a race between the security needs of government and industry and terrorists who are intent on finding the flaws in the new technology. I suspect that ultimately we will find that the most secure form of ID is the kind that is redundant, placed in and on your body in various locations and using various methods. It is interesting to track these trends as they evolve, as one day one of them will become the dreaded Mark of the Beast (Rev 13:16-18). In this latest news, the U.S. government is upgrading border security by requiring biometric identification and letting people know they should get used to it (Reuters - Get used to biometric tests, U.S. tells travelers). The U.S. is also encouraging international standards (Independent - US wants to be able to access Britons' ID cards) so that biometric data can easily be shared among the responsible authorities.