MoneyNewsWeb.com

By Jim Palmer
MoneyNewsWeb.com
April 01, 2008

The Real ID Act was passed into law in 2005 as part of a spending bill for the War in Iraq and aide to the Tsunami victims. Members of Congress never even debated the Real ID before it was signed into law.

The Real ID is a National ID Card, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) likes to call it an "Enhanced Drivers License." These National ID cards are supposed to stop terrorists or illegals from obtaining drivers licenses.

Follow up:

The requirements for all Americans to obtain one is to present the DMV with a social security card, a birth certificate, a valid home address (no po boxes accepted)and other information DHS deems is necessary to keep our nation safe. In the future this could include things like your religious and political affiliation and so on. DHS has the authority to add anything they want to this card about you.

All your documents will be scanned into a database, your birth certificate will most likely have your mother's maiden name and of course they will have your date of birth and your social security number. In addition, a photograph will be taken of you which will include biometric identifier's so a computer program can check your image against a database of terrorists.

The information will be shared with all states, Mexico, Canada, Europe and private corporations and any other entity DHS wants.

Much of this information is in a variety of hands now, but not usually all stored in one place and accessible to an untold unmanaged group of people around the globe. With so many people having access to your sensitive information, it has to make you wonder just how secure your data is.

Let's just put it this way, DHS has admitted to be hacked nearly 850 times in the past tow years. The Pentagon has admitted that their databases were hacked by the Chinese and they think sensitive data was compromised. If DHS and the Pentagon cannot keep their data secure, how do you expect them to keep ours?

A hacker with a bit of knowledge could easily go in and change your file and create a new ID for themselves with stolen DMV equipment. With their new ID, being you, they could clean out your bank accounts and maybe even reek havoc on your investments and be long gone before you realize what has happened. You will have a hard time proving who you are if the image in the DMV database and other information does not match you.

This unfunded Federal Mandate is estimated at a cost of 11 Billion dollars when fully implemented. It will cost you more money and could cost you your identity? Is it really worth it?

You can contact your federal and state Legislators and tell them what you think about the Real ID. They will repeal it if enough Americans stand up against it.