ShareID spokesperson Eliana Daboul described the company in an email as “an Authentication-as-a-Service solution tied to government-issued IDs.”

The twist is that, unlike other similar companies, ShareID claims it doesn’t store any personal data. Instead, according to ShareID’s CEO Sara Sebti, the company asks users to submit a video to prove their “liveness” — a fancy word that means the user has to prove they are a real person in front of their phone’s camera and it’s not a pre-recorded video — and a picture of their government ID. But ShareID says it doesn’t store this data, it keeps it in memory on its servers and creates a hash — a unique ID — and then wipes the data, which effectively was never stored on the servers.

Whether we like it or not, many government departments want to store copies of IDs, and I've also been finding the same now in South Africa with charities wanting ID numbers for income tax rebates. What we also know is that both of these types of entities are not the most secure to be doing this. It's also been seen that hackers often target a soft 3rd party service looking for credentials. So, the whole wanting copies of IDs is becoming very problematic.

A best practice is certainly to encrypt any such documentation (at the very minimum), but I often find that big companies will encrypt when they send statements and other documentation to you, but just you try responding back to them with similarly encrypted documents, and they don't seem to be geared for that. If documents are stored in an encrypted format, that is a lot better, though.

So whether ShareID is the best solution or not, remains to be seen, but I do like that there are such solutions being proposed. Citizens can be secure and private as they want to be, but if their governments are not practising the same cautions, then it helps little. Fining a government department for negligence does zero to help any citizen who has had their data breached (the fine is anyway paid with taxpayer money, too). It probably helps to fine private organisations, but for government agencies that is really no deterrent.

See https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/27/this-startup-wants-to-verify-your-id-without-storing-your-personal-data/

#technology #privacy #identity

ShareID spokesperson Eliana Daboul described the company in an email as “an Authentication-as-a-Service solution tied to government-issued IDs.”

The twist is that, unlike other similar companies, ShareID claims it doesn’t store any personal data. Instead, according to ShareID’s CEO Sara Sebti, the company asks users to submit a video to prove their “liveness” — a fancy word that means the user has to prove they are a real person in front of their phone’s camera and it’s not a pre-recorded video — and a picture of their government ID. But ShareID says it doesn’t store this data, it keeps it in memory on its servers and creates a hash — a unique ID — and then wipes the data, which effectively was never stored on the servers.

Whether we like it or not, many government departments want to store copies of IDs, and I've also been finding the same now in South Africa with charities wanting ID numbers for income tax rebates. What we also know is that both of these types of entities are not the most secure to be doing this. It's also been seen that hackers often target a soft 3rd party service looking for credentials. So, the whole wanting copies of IDs is becoming very problematic.

A best practice is certainly to encrypt any such documentation (at the very minimum), but I often find that big companies will encrypt when they send statements and other documentation to you, but just you try responding back to them with similarly encrypted documents, and they don't seem to be geared for that. If documents are stored in an encrypted format, that is a lot better, though.

So whether ShareID is the best solution or not, remains to be seen, but I do like that there are such solutions being proposed. Citizens can be secure and private as they want to be, but if their governments are not practising the same cautions, then it helps little. Fining a government department for negligence does zero to help any citizen who has had their data breached (the fine is anyway paid with taxpayer money, too). It probably helps to fine private organisations, but for government agencies that is really no deterrent.

See https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/27/this-startup-wants-to-verify-your-id-without-storing-your-personal-data/

#technology #privacy #identity

ShareID spokesperson Eliana Daboul described the company in an email as “an Authentication-as-a-Service solution tied to government-issued IDs.”

The twist is that, unlike other similar companies, ShareID claims it doesn’t store any personal data. Instead, according to ShareID’s CEO Sara Sebti, the company asks users to submit a video to prove their “liveness” — a fancy word that means the user has to prove they are a real person in front of their phone’s camera and it’s not a pre-recorded video — and a picture of their government ID. But ShareID says it doesn’t store this data, it keeps it in memory on its servers and creates a hash — a unique ID — and then wipes the data, which effectively was never stored on the servers.

Whether we like it or not, many government departments want to store copies of IDs, and I've also been finding the same now in South Africa with charities wanting ID numbers for income tax rebates. What we also know is that both of these types of entities are not the most secure to be doing this. It's also been seen that hackers often target a soft 3rd party service looking for credentials. So, the whole wanting copies of IDs is becoming very problematic.

A best practice is certainly to encrypt any such documentation (at the very minimum), but I often find that big companies will encrypt when they send statements and other documentation to you, but just you try responding back to them with similarly encrypted documents, and they don't seem to be geared for that. If documents are stored in an encrypted format, that is a lot better, though.

So whether ShareID is the best solution or not, remains to be seen, but I do like that there are such solutions being proposed. Citizens can be secure and private as they want to be, but if their governments are not practising the same cautions, then it helps little. Fining a government department for negligence does zero to help any citizen who has had their data breached (the fine is anyway paid with taxpayer money, too). It probably helps to fine private organisations, but for government agencies that is really no deterrent.

See https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/27/this-startup-wants-to-verify-your-id-without-storing-your-personal-data/

#technology #privacy #identity

I still don't place a lot of faith in stats around Linux desktop OS market share from web browser visits (because mine, for example, are "Other" and on a VPN that exits outside of SA, and our Linux computers in the home are behind one public IP address that can't be counting them separately, etc).

But be that as it may, it was still interesting to see a quite noticeable uptick in the Linux share in the South African market. It has been around 1.6% for quite a long while, but over just these few months in 2023 it has shot up to 4.5% showing quite consistent growth. That is also much higher than the current global average of 3.2%.

There is no real reason that I know of for this change. It may just be that Linux users in SA are browsing the Internet more. It may be that the high inflation rate and cost of living is driving more computer users in SA to use Linux. Or it may be that some saw the light and realised they can buy bare-bones computers cheaper, and just the latest up-to-date Linux on it for free.

I'd like to have thought it was because of a roll-out across schools, or government departments, to spark better innovation and cost-savings, but I know that won't be happening any time soon, even if there is a budget deficit right now. We'' raise taxes before we cut costs...

See https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/south-africa/#monthly-202209-202308

#technology #SouthAfrica #Linux

I still don't place a lot of faith in stats around Linux desktop OS market share from web browser visits (because mine, for example, are "Other" and on a VPN that exits outside of SA, and our Linux computers in the home are behind one public IP address that can't be counting them separately, etc).

But be that as it may, it was still interesting to see a quite noticeable uptick in the Linux share in the South African market. It has been around 1.6% for quite a long while, but over just these few months in 2023 it has shot up to 4.5% showing quite consistent growth. That is also much higher than the current global average of 3.2%.

There is no real reason that I know of for this change. It may just be that Linux users in SA are browsing the Internet more. It may be that the high inflation rate and cost of living is driving more computer users in SA to use Linux. Or it may be that some saw the light and realised they can buy bare-bones computers cheaper, and just the latest up-to-date Linux on it for free.

I'd like to have thought it was because of a roll-out across schools, or government departments, to spark better innovation and cost-savings, but I know that won't be happening any time soon, even if there is a budget deficit right now. We'' raise taxes before we cut costs...

See https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/south-africa/#monthly-202209-202308

#technology #SouthAfrica #Linux

I still don't place a lot of faith in stats around Linux desktop OS market share from web browser visits (because mine, for example, are "Other" and on a VPN that exits outside of SA, and our Linux computers in the home are behind one public IP address that can't be counting them separately, etc).

But be that as it may, it was still interesting to see a quite noticeable uptick in the Linux share in the South African market. It has been around 1.6% for quite a long while, but over just these few months in 2023 it has shot up to 4.5% showing quite consistent growth. That is also much higher than the current global average of 3.2%.

There is no real reason that I know of for this change. It may just be that Linux users in SA are browsing the Internet more. It may be that the high inflation rate and cost of living is driving more computer users in SA to use Linux. Or it may be that some saw the light and realised they can buy bare-bones computers cheaper, and just the latest up-to-date Linux on it for free.

I'd like to have thought it was because of a roll-out across schools, or government departments, to spark better innovation and cost-savings, but I know that won't be happening any time soon, even if there is a budget deficit right now. We'' raise taxes before we cut costs...

See https://gs.statcounter.com/os-market-share/desktop/south-africa/#monthly-202209-202308

#technology #SouthAfrica #Linux

Have you ever imagined a vault so secure that even the craftiest of digital cat burglars would be left scratching their heads? That's what encrypted digital notebooks offer. A realm where your words are not just words, but treasures locked away in a digital Fort Knox. This is about blending usability with top-tier security, like mixing your favourite cocktail – it's got to have the right balance.

"Why do I even need this?" you might wonder. Think about it: in an era where our lives are so intertwined with the digital realm, shouldn't our private thoughts get the VIP treatment too? So, whether you're penning the next great novel, planning a surprise for a loved one, or just noting down what groceries to pick up, it’s time to ensure your notes are stored safely and stylishly.

Although there are countless note-taking apps around, the one's in this list do focus more specifically on security, as well as ease of use (no self-hosting installation required, easy to access, and easy syncing).

I thought Cryptee was related to CryptPad, but it appears not. CryptPad is similar, and I use it for secure private sharing of documents, but it lacks slick mobile apps.

See https://stackdiary.com/best-encrypted-digital-notebooks/

#technology #privacy #notes

Have you ever imagined a vault so secure that even the craftiest of digital cat burglars would be left scratching their heads? That's what encrypted digital notebooks offer. A realm where your words are not just words, but treasures locked away in a digital Fort Knox. This is about blending usability with top-tier security, like mixing your favourite cocktail – it's got to have the right balance.

"Why do I even need this?" you might wonder. Think about it: in an era where our lives are so intertwined with the digital realm, shouldn't our private thoughts get the VIP treatment too? So, whether you're penning the next great novel, planning a surprise for a loved one, or just noting down what groceries to pick up, it’s time to ensure your notes are stored safely and stylishly.

Although there are countless note-taking apps around, the one's in this list do focus more specifically on security, as well as ease of use (no self-hosting installation required, easy to access, and easy syncing).

I thought Cryptee was related to CryptPad, but it appears not. CryptPad is similar, and I use it for secure private sharing of documents, but it lacks slick mobile apps.

See https://stackdiary.com/best-encrypted-digital-notebooks/

#technology #privacy #notes

Have you ever imagined a vault so secure that even the craftiest of digital cat burglars would be left scratching their heads? That's what encrypted digital notebooks offer. A realm where your words are not just words, but treasures locked away in a digital Fort Knox. This is about blending usability with top-tier security, like mixing your favourite cocktail – it's got to have the right balance.

"Why do I even need this?" you might wonder. Think about it: in an era where our lives are so intertwined with the digital realm, shouldn't our private thoughts get the VIP treatment too? So, whether you're penning the next great novel, planning a surprise for a loved one, or just noting down what groceries to pick up, it’s time to ensure your notes are stored safely and stylishly.

Although there are countless note-taking apps around, the one's in this list do focus more specifically on security, as well as ease of use (no self-hosting installation required, easy to access, and easy syncing).

I thought Cryptee was related to CryptPad, but it appears not. CryptPad is similar, and I use it for secure private sharing of documents, but it lacks slick mobile apps.

See https://stackdiary.com/best-encrypted-digital-notebooks/

#technology #privacy #notes