twitter

Washington Post Editorial Board Supports Upgraded Social Security Cards


In its February 3 editorial page, the Washington Post Editorial board called for tamper-proof, biometric Social Security card for all US citizens and legal residents. Similar proposals were included in both the Bipartisan Senators Framework for Immigration Reform and the President’s proposal for immigration reform. The Washington Post Editorial Board argues that such an ID document would make it easy for companies to detect and reject undocumented job applicants, and in their words, “If illegal immigrants can’t get jobs, they won’t come to this country.” More importantly, they draw a connection between the successful ePassport program and an upgraded Social Security card: if American’s civil liberties have not been encroached upon by the electronic foreign travel document, why should a similar employment verification ID pose a threat? The Secure ID Coalition is excited about the Washington Post Editorial and looks forward to the upcoming immigration debate. To read the editorial, please go to the Washington Post website.

Our Mission

The Secure ID Coalition is an affiliation of companies providing digital security solutions for identification documents, including contactless smart cards. Our mission is to promote the understanding and appropriate use of smart card technology to achieve enhanced security for ID management systems while maintaining user privacy.

Such ID management systems include physical and/or logical access to facilities and networks.

Our Partners

Working with the following groups to help lead the charge for secure identification systems

logos 01

Citizens Privacy Rights

Coalition members support specific citizen privacy rights as follows:

Privacy of personal information as defined by all relevant regulations and laws, principally the body of laws known as the Fair Information Practices.

Confidence that ID documents have been appropriately secured against threats of fraudulent access to personal information.

Knowledge of

  • 1what data is contained in electronic ID document;

  • 2how that data will be collected, secured and transmitted;

  • 3the presence of radio frequency (RF) technology in ID documents;

  • 4when, where and why an RF device is being read.

Secure News to Know

  • Barone: Verifying Worker SSNs Critical to Immigration Bill Success

    With the eyes of an nervous nation focused on the Senate immigration reform bill, respected DC pundit and American Enterprise Institute Fellow Michael Barone weighed in on what he considers a prime justification for the bill: reforming E-Verify so that it actually works. Without it, the current bill’s failure to verify Social Security numbers for employment will lead to the same wave of illegal immigration we suffered in the aftermath of the 1986 amnesty. You can read his article here.


     

  • FTC’s New Video on Identity Theft: Good Luck Restoring Your Trashed Credit!

    The Federal Trade Commission, the American citizen’s stalwart against business shenanigans and malfeasance, put out a new video describing what identity theft looks like and what steps you can take to stop the fraudsters from grinding your good credit score into the single digits. In an attempt to reduce incidents of fraud that impact over 9 million Americans each year, they list a litany of vectors where the bad guys take advantage of average folk like us, such as using stolen Social Security numbers to file fraudulent tax returns, open new accounts, obtain a job, or even get medical care. Their solution: a comprehensive document entitled “Taking Charge: What To Do If Your Identity is Stolen” and an odd three-page PDF of links that might be useful if the links actually worked. What the government should be doing is taking decisive actions to prevent the fraud before it wipes out your life savings (and the U.S. Treasury).

    Read more...
     

  • An Upgraded Social Security Card Can Save Millions of Americans from Tax Scams

    The hottest topic right now, both throughout Washington DC and across America, is immigration reform. The very heart of the immigration reform debate is about ensuring jobs, rights, and benefits to US citizens and legal aliens authorized to access them; one of these rights (although most of us consider it a burden) is the ability to pay taxes. Unfortunately, identity thieves have found a way to infringe on this right, scamming millions of Americans out of billions of dollars’ worth of taxpayer refunds using stolen Social Security numbers. As part of the immigration reform, both President Obama and a group of eight Senators have proposed an upgraded Social Security card to protect citizen identity when applying for a job. It’s an idea that will not only protect American workers’ jobs, but their tax refunds, as well.

    Read more...
     

  • Secure ID Coalition Testifies Before the National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics

    The Secure ID Coalition Executive Director Kelli Emerick testifies before the Department of Health & Human Service’s National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics, speaking on the efficiencies smart cards can bring to the healthcare sector. To read her full testimony, please see here.