Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Laminate Technology Stores DNA for Travel Docs

"They" Want Your Blood or Your DNA

The following is a corporate press release in which vendors favor themselves, yet again, to feed the delusions of grandeur fostered by really bad legislation [Real ID Act].   "National security" is the phrase vendors and colluding agencies use to continue business at the expense of ethics, personal privacy and the 4th Amendment.  Real ID has both specific and loosely defined terms for including biometrics.   DNA is considered as biometric fodder where Real ID is concerned.   

c/o Nanowerk news

(Nanowerk NewsApplied DNA Sciences, Inc., a provider of DNA-based security solutions, announced today that in collaboration with a world leader in security laminated materials, it has validated its proprietary SigNature® DNA into laminates typically used in travel documents, credit cards, drivers licenses and other government issued identification cards.
Protecting secure documents against alteration and counterfeiting has become a priority of governments around the world. The REAL ID Act is U.S. Federal law that imposes certain security, authentication, and issuance procedure standards for the state driver's licenses and state ID cards, for them to be accepted by the Federal government for "official purposes”.
According to the Real ID Act, DNA is accepted as one of the biometric identifiers along with fingerprints and retinal scans. For example, SigNature DNA can be incorporated as part of a security ink that is embedded into the laminate of a driver’s license.
Incorporating SigNature DNA into the existing inks and printing processes safeguards the driver’s license at a forensic level and ensures that the license can not be copied or re-engineered. DNA protection also offers each State their own unique DNA identifier that can be authenticated even 10 years from the date the license was issued. The strength of DNA authentication has already been demonstrated by law enforcement in the United States and is accepted internationally as forensic evidence should a criminal or civil case be prosecute

[Here's the "we've got what America needs" marketing pitch...]

Raising the security systems standards of state-issued identification is an important step toward enhancing national security. Because a driver's license serves so many purposes (access to federal buildings, nuclear power plants, boarding aircraft, etc.), terrorists actively seek fraudulent state-issued identification. The REAL ID rules will make it more difficult for them, while making it easier for law enforcement to detect falsified documents. The Department of Homeland Security has provided States with an extension to comply by December 31, 2009. In addition, States that meet certain benchmarks for the security of their credentials and licensing processes will automatically be granted a second extension until May 11, 2011 to complete full implementation of REAL ID.

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