Ben Goldacre has written a great piece for the Guardian about ID cards and why biometrics are not to be trusted. I have mixed feelings about Ben Goldacre – I think he is too quick to dismiss as quackery things that science can’t explain, but he is truly excellent on pointing out the misuse of science. The issue about biometric data being easily faked has been around for a while, but it needs repeating again and again until public opinion catches up with facts.
“So will biometrics prevent ID theft? Well, it might make it more difficult for you to prove your innocence. And once your fingerprints are stolen, they are harder to replace than your pin number.”