Parents Protest Student Computer ID Tags

From the Washington Post, Parents Protest Student Computer ID Tags.

"The system was imposed, without parental input, by the school as a way to simplify attendance-taking and potentially reduce vandalism and improve student safety. Principal Earnie Graham hopes to eventually add bar codes to the existing ID's so that students can use them to pay for cafeteria meals and check out library books."

Somebody should introduce this head teacher to Bruce Schneier.

"Step 1: What assets are you trying to protect? Children.

Step 2: What are the risks to these assets? Loss of the child, either due to kidnapping or accident...

Step 3: How well does the security solution mitigate those risks? Not very well...

Step 4: What other risks does the security solution cause? The additional risk is the data collected through constant surveillance. Where is this information collected? Who has access to it? How long is it stored? These are important security questions that get no mention.

Step 5: What costs and trade-offs does the security solution impose? There are two. The first is obvious: money. I don’t have it figured, but it’s expensive to outfit every child with an ID card... The second cost is more intangible: a loss of privacy. We are raising children who think it normal that their daily movements are watched and recorded... That feeling of privacy is not something we should give up lightly.

So, finally: is this system worth it? No. The security gained is not worth the money and privacy spent. If the goal is to make children safer, the money would be better spent elsewhere: guards at the schools, education programs for the children, etc...

The five-step process is a subjective one, and should be evaluated from the point of view of the person making the trade-off decision. If you imagine that the school officials are making the trade-off, then the system suddenly makes sense."

Why? Well, if the Washington Post is correct, the company that sells the system has "paid the school several thousand dollars" for trying it out and also "promised a royalty from each sale if the system takes off."

Always watch out for the agenda of the decision maker.