ats:
"In this note, I report an experiment to see whether a high quality system specification can also be produced by a large number of people working in parallel with a minimum of communication."
That is, he set "how can the National Lottery be protected against cheating?" as an exam question to a bunch of undergrads.
The results are interesting.
He's just done the same thing with banking.
ats: Markus Kuhn on how the UK could implement an national ID that would actually work.
Unfortunately, the first step of his approach is that the "government first must provide high-quality, easily available and easy to use identification mechanisms that were designed for the purpose".
The British government providing a high-quality IT system? Somehow I can't see that happening.
His second step is also not going to happen, and while his third step probably will happen, it'll be a result of incompetence rather than a deliberate manuever...
For what it's worth, I'd be absolutely delighted if the UK government could build the sort of scheme that Kuhn suggests.
The existing government IDs I have (driving license and passport) are nearly useless -- I can't even use them to prove my identity to my local government.
(I renewed my parking permit a couple of days ago, and CCC require a utility bill or rental contract as proof of address.)
I would love to have a unique, trustable, authenticated ID -- in conjuction with laws that meant having it stolen didn't completely destroy my life.