Thursday, October 15, 2009
Crooks and your DNA
Identity protection has been a problem for many years moreover with the advances in technology allowing crooks to invade our innermost genetic secrets. Biometric identity such as DNA is a foreseeable problem as “A Trail of DNA and Data” By Paul Saffo describes. Saffo gives a scenario of how by 2020 we’ll have police officers running around with hand-held scanners that will be able to inform us of anything. He predicts the police officer saying something like,
However, this will result in a complex system that will have flaws allowing crooks to take advantage of. Saffo believes,
"Okay, I'll let you off with a warning, but you really need more sleep. I alsoHow far can technology reach that a police officer will be able to advise you to sleep more or that some part of your body needs to be checked? The advances in making a more secure nation and trying to prevent thieves from steeling Social Security numbers or fingerprints will lead into the usage of DNA.
see that your retinal implants are past warranty, and your car tells me that you
are six months overdue on its navigation firmware upgrade. You really need to
take care of both or next time it's a ticket."
However, this will result in a complex system that will have flaws allowing crooks to take advantage of. Saffo believes,
“The notion that it can deliver reliable, theft proof evidence of identity isDNA can easily become like a fool’s gold under close inspection. This being because you would be leaving a trail of your DNA everytime you touched something. Trailing your DNA permits the discovery of your innermost genetic secrets- your ancestry, genetic defects and your ability to get certain diseases. The outcome would be even a bigger dilemma for the genetic marketplace since it’ll be easier for health insurers and companies to prune out risky individuals. Surrendering your DNA
pure science fiction.”
