And the credit for the next errant quote goes to: Russ Knocke, spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, who states at the end of the article:

"Biometric licenses will be "virtually impossible" to fake"

==sarcasm== Yeah, I'm really all over that... because the RFID chip that they are going to use could "Never" be reprogrammed, nor could the "Encryption" on the chip "Ever" be broken... ==/sarcasm==

It seems to me that we are spending billions on a project that will only expose us all to MORE FRAUD, without any calculable risk mitigation.

Some interesting facts about the REAL ID Act:
It mandates (but doesn't budget) that each state is responsible for building a data warehouse to store the information that is printed on the drivers license, and encoded on the "electronically readable medium". These statewide data stores will then be shared amongst all states and the federal government, for "Identification Verification" purposes.(When was the last time your state had an information security breach?)

The REAL ID will be your "NEW" drivers license, doubling not only as your proof of driving in the state that you reside, but also it will then be elevated to perform several other functions, primarily as your new National ID, proof of citizenship, proof of voting rights, proof of residence, proof of age, and anything else that the state so desires to encode on the "electronically readable medium".

The decision for what type of "electronically readable medium" is left in the "capable" hands of the Department of Homeland Security, who is currently enamored with RFID technology. (Also the state department has moved to Passports with RFID chips in them, and it "seems to be working well", which means they can't yet tell if anyone has stolen or tampered with any of the data on the chip, as there is no way to tell at this time.)

Nowhere in the REAL ID Act is there any mention of how any of this data is to be secured, controlled, or tracked, nor are there any stipulations as to who has access to it, and who can see this access list. Meaning, you won't know who has your data, and what they are doing with it.

Those without the "new REAL ID" will not be permitted to FLY on any commercial airline, enter any Federal Building, or any other area that the Federal Government deems requires such Identification. This is a direct limitation of constitutional freedom

I am all in favor of securing our country, however, I think that this should be reviewed by more than just lawmakers, as the ability for this new "Security" measure introduces much more INSECURITY and RISK than I feel is necessary, and does not conform to common standards of information security practices.

More diatribe on REAL ID