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Comment by no_wizard | Hacker News Reader

In the US, the government could help alot if they simply moved to a national ID system and dismantled social security numbers.

The national ID systems I've seen proposed have alot more security from the ground up, and could replace the passport system.

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The US has done itself a disservice with their actions because few people trust the government. A national ID system means a database of all Americans that would very likely be used for surveillance and monitoring. I'm saying this as someone who has Global Entry so it's not like I'm afraid of being in a US database but I see the concerns.

Pretty sure the FBI and equivalent agencies already have access to every state’s DMV records so it’s sort of a distinction without a difference.

Correct

That survail

That surveillance already exists with insignificant additional work on the part of the government. The cost of not establishing a best ID system has been clearly more costly. That's why the Real ID system was pushed onto state governments.

The US doesn't need a national ID. It needs a national PKI.

The US Postal Service is in a great position to be the one who executes it. They have access to delivery physical goods to the entire country. They have the staff and procedures to do identity verification for their current products that could be extended to a PKI offering.

It'll never fly, politically.

If you look at the best National ID systems in Europe, effective it’s all leveraging PKI. It needs a name, of course (National ID) and a purpose, however the entire core of these systems rest on PKI

National ID won't sell, politically, in the US. Branding it as some kind of "cyber" nonsense might give it some legs. (Just until the opposition starts calling it "National ID". I don't think political buy-in will ever happen in a reasonable timeframe no matter how it's branded.) The opposition to REAL ID act is evidence enough.

"Wow, the government is so catastrophically bad at managing IDs; what should we do?"

"Hmmm. I know! Lets get the government to manage a mandatory ID system, and require it for all aspects of citizen's lives! In fact, lets centralize all of their medical, financial and personal data using this ID, and ensure that it can all be accessed using this ID! What could possibly go wrong?"

I wonder if you could create a national or federated ID system that takes advantage of blind signatures/ZKP to improve privacy. For example, you could create an unlimited number of identities to hand out to different buisnesses, and they could use ZKP to prove that you are above 18, a non-felon, or an organ donor etc. Dunno how something like photo ID would work.

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