Snippings

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“Virtual ID  gives the users the option of not sharing their Aadhaar number at the time of authentication.

– The Virtual ID, which would be a random 16-digit number, together with biometrics of the user would give any authorised agency like a mobile company, limited details like name, address and photograph, which are enough for any verification.

– A user can generate as many Virtual IDs as he or she wants.

– The older ID gets automatically cancelled once a fresh one is generated.”

From “UIDAI unveils Virtual ID in beta form – Here’s how VID for Aadhaar works | Personal Finance News”.

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“Three months ago Muniya Devi travelled some 35km to the nearest town to submit the forms and papers necessary to get her family’s ration cards linked to Aadhaar. People at the office demanded a bribe to get the job done, so she paid them 400 rupees, nearly four days of family earnings. ‘They say the network is down, the computer is not working. And I keep borrowing food to feed my family,’ she told me.”

From “Aadhaar: Is India’s biometric ID scheme hurting the poor? – BBC News”.

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“The Sun on Sunday tested it on a busy high street and were able to clone a test ‘victim’s’ credit card in seconds”

From “How crooks are using a legal app to steal your bank card details in under one SECOND”.

This is, of course, fake news. You can’t clone an EMV card using the card number and expiry date (both of which are printed on the from of the card anyway) and if merchants allow a crook to order something using only the card number and expiry date (ie, without asking for the security code or address) then they are liable for the fraud. Cardholders are completely protected.

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We just discovered that we may have lost the signing key allowing us to update the app

Note: key isn’t compromised, just was accidentally deleted and isn’t recoverable

— ACINQ (@acinq_co)

April 7, 2018

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js

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In what it calls an attempt to promote “trustworthiness” in its economy and society, China is experimenting with a social credit system that mixes familiar Western-style credit scores with more expansive — and intrusive — measures. It includes everything from rankings calculated by online payment providers to scores doled out by neighborhoods or companies. High-flyers receive perks such as discounts on heating bills and favorable bank loans, while bad debtors cannot buy high-speed train or plane tickets.

From Life Inside China’s Social Credit Laboratory – Foreign Policy.

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“The Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs elected the contractor and had to transfer money to the company’s account. Then the scammers appeared in the game, who impersonated the company and sent the Belgians the account number of the company they controlled. Oblivious to fraud, employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have shed over 400,000 criminals. euro.”

From “Kolumbijskie kartele prały setki milionów zł przez spółki z Pruszkowa i okolic – tvp.info”.

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China has developed a new voice recognition system, connecting speakers’ voice features to their identification information for the purpose of building a database of “voiceprints.”

The system will be used for authentication of people’s identities on the internet, as well as in the areas of medical treatment, education, financial services, transportation, and tourism, according to the Chinese regime’s state-run news agency Xinhua.

From China Gathers ‘Voiceprints’ for New Identification Technology, Raising Privacy Concerns | The Epoch Times.

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In a March 26 letter to Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, the Department of Homeland Security acknowledged that last year it identified suspected unauthorized cell-site simulators in the nation’s capital. The agency said it had not determined the type of devices in use or who might have been operating them. Nor did it say how many it detected or where.

From APNewsBreak: US suspects cellphone spying devices in DC.

Of course some of these might be “legitimate” (ie, being used by the FBI or the police)

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“omputer Weekly understands there’s a battle going on between the Cabinet Office, where GDS sits, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), responsible for policy around the digital economy – within which the issue of identity is central.”

From “As Gov.uk Verify concerns mount, is GDS about to lose control of digital identity policy? – Computer Weekly Editor’s Blog”.

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“On trial for murder in Adelaide, Australia, 26-year-old Caroline Nilsson claimed her mother-in-law, Myrna Nilsson, had been attacked and killed following a home invasion by a group of men angered in a road rage incident. Prosecutors, however, presented evidence that showed the crime scene and story was fake, and used forensically tested Apple Watch data to illustrate the time and style of attack.”

From “Apple Watch Data Used as Evidence in Australian Murder Trial | Digital Trends”.

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