I’m coming to realize that part of expertise is understanding where common sense betrays us, leading us to conclusions that are incorrect though plausible. Schneier always does a great job on security issues pointing out these variances between common sense and what a genuine understanding of the field of security actually reveals to be true.
This time, he has a great write up on the Real ID program, leading off with a brief history. Others, as he points out, have tallied a conservative financial cost estimate. The bulk of this article is him applying his expertise to derive what actual security benefit that cost would net the nation.
The net-net, which Schneier has actually said before and frequently, is that this is a poor trade off. He again elucidates the gap between common sense and actual security, here, which is often quite ridiculous.
He also points to a story that I included in last week’s quick links, that Maine has rejected Real ID. He interprets this as cause of for optimism, that other states will follow.
Technorati Tags: privacy, national ID card
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