Just caught the below on the Thumbs down blog run by a parent, about the complete lack of security surrounding a computer with children's biometric data on - how appalling!
"A very short comment on the school’s security:
At pick up today we walked through the nursery playground. I usually go the other way, but we both went today.
The library is inside a cottage between the Nursery and the Infant School. As I walked past the cottage door, I noticed it was wide open.
Around the corner I glanced in through the library window and saw that the room was empty. 5 minutes or so later, after a significant number of parents had walked past it, the cottage door was still open.
I poked my head inside and called “Hello! Anybody there?” Quite loudly. Reply came there none, so I walked in the three steps to the library door, tried the handle and opened it. There by the door was the computer, with the thumbscanner, just to confirm it is the one with the biometric data inside.
This is the computer about which the Governors said “reasonable security measures are taken”."
Saturday, June 07, 2008
Friday, June 06, 2008
School upsets parents by fingerprinting their kids
More than 700 students were fingerprinted last week by the Clinton County School District and some parents aren't happy. Parents learned about the fingerprinting only after it happened.
Unbelievable! Seems that the school authorities in the UK and USA are simply not grasping that before they go finger scanning, storing and recording our kids biometric data they must communicate with us on this or risk alienating the parent population . Some parents, in the UK, were so angered by this they went to the police.
Unbelievable! Seems that the school authorities in the UK and USA are simply not grasping that before they go finger scanning, storing and recording our kids biometric data they must communicate with us on this or risk alienating the parent population . Some parents, in the UK, were so angered by this they went to the police.
More UK schools using childrens fingerprints
Biometric technology using children's fingerprints is well underway across the UK. When systems using biometric fingerprints can cost up to £27,000 this is certainly a big business concern (funded by our taxes!).
The Bexhill-on-sea Observer reports that William Parker Sports College in Hasting has gone fully cashless:
Biometric fingerprints will be used by both pupils and staff to pay for everything from school dinners to theatre trips.
"We will be the first school in the town to be a cashless college," said John Court. "All our catering and anything that parents have to pay for will be paid for from online student accounts."
and in the Journel Live in Tyneside...
A North Tyneside school is spending £15,000 on the latest fingerprinting technology to curb bullying at lunchtime. Every child attending Churchill Community College in Howdon, has had their thumb prints scanned ahead of the launch of the new cashless payment system after the half-term break.
The biometric system is designed to reduce bullying in schools and any potential stigma suffered by those receiving free school meals.
Was bullying so bad at Churchill Community College that they felt the need to throw £15,000 at it? Over in Lancashire it's reported that in Bowland High School:
School dinners have been given a hi-tech overhaul. Headteacher Mr Stephen Cox said:
"Although biometric identification has been used in schools for library use for a number of years, we are one of the first schools in Lancashire to embrace the technology for use in paying for school meals, while it is early days the pupils have embraced the technology and we are hoping it will enhance their lunchtime experience by speeding up service."
The Bexhill-on-sea Observer reports that William Parker Sports College in Hasting has gone fully cashless:
Biometric fingerprints will be used by both pupils and staff to pay for everything from school dinners to theatre trips.
"We will be the first school in the town to be a cashless college," said John Court. "All our catering and anything that parents have to pay for will be paid for from online student accounts."
and in the Journel Live in Tyneside...
A North Tyneside school is spending £15,000 on the latest fingerprinting technology to curb bullying at lunchtime. Every child attending Churchill Community College in Howdon, has had their thumb prints scanned ahead of the launch of the new cashless payment system after the half-term break.
The biometric system is designed to reduce bullying in schools and any potential stigma suffered by those receiving free school meals.
Was bullying so bad at Churchill Community College that they felt the need to throw £15,000 at it? Over in Lancashire it's reported that in Bowland High School:
School dinners have been given a hi-tech overhaul. Headteacher Mr Stephen Cox said:
"Although biometric identification has been used in schools for library use for a number of years, we are one of the first schools in Lancashire to embrace the technology for use in paying for school meals, while it is early days the pupils have embraced the technology and we are hoping it will enhance their lunchtime experience by speeding up service."
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Misinformation and no consent - still!
Again and again the same old cr*p is spouted by schools to parents about it's not a fingerprint that's taken so don't worry.
Obviously they have not done their research and believe whatever spiel the biometric sales persons are giving them. Here's what Education Bradford say about Junior Librarian, which according to them, is recommended by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
"Publicity material from the manufacturers states: "No image of the fingerprint itself is ever stored and the unique number that is generated during registration can never be used to recreate an image of the original scan.""
These biometric readers have not been scrutinized by the government, as Jim Knight MP admits himself, or any independent experts here in the UK [unless any of the biometric vendors can inform otherwise or offer a system for scrutiny] - however the above statement, by Junior Librarian, can be challenged as US universities have reverse engineered fingerprints from such systems.
Along the line somewhere the complete truth isn't being aired.
On top of the misinformation given to parents, and despite advice from the government and the Information Commissioner on the practice of using biometric technology with children, schools are still taking biometric fingerprints from children without informing parents.
Parents, in Keithley, when the school had taken childrens biometric fingerprints without consent were concerned enough to contact the police and Ofsted.
Little Lever School, Bolton and Long Lee School, Keithley are the recent culprits have committed the two offences of giving misleading information and not consulting parents.
So the recent government advice is working well then...
Obviously they have not done their research and believe whatever spiel the biometric sales persons are giving them. Here's what Education Bradford say about Junior Librarian, which according to them, is recommended by the Department for Children, Schools and Families.
"Publicity material from the manufacturers states: "No image of the fingerprint itself is ever stored and the unique number that is generated during registration can never be used to recreate an image of the original scan.""
These biometric readers have not been scrutinized by the government, as Jim Knight MP admits himself, or any independent experts here in the UK [unless any of the biometric vendors can inform otherwise or offer a system for scrutiny] - however the above statement, by Junior Librarian, can be challenged as US universities have reverse engineered fingerprints from such systems.
Along the line somewhere the complete truth isn't being aired.
On top of the misinformation given to parents, and despite advice from the government and the Information Commissioner on the practice of using biometric technology with children, schools are still taking biometric fingerprints from children without informing parents.
Parents, in Keithley, when the school had taken childrens biometric fingerprints without consent were concerned enough to contact the police and Ofsted.
Little Lever School, Bolton and Long Lee School, Keithley are the recent culprits have committed the two offences of giving misleading information and not consulting parents.
So the recent government advice is working well then...
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Wanted - Smith and Browns Fingerprints
Just caught this on the Privacy International site - fingerprints of Smith and Brown "wanted".
It reads:
GUILTY of reckless endangerment of our personal security by storing our fingerprints on a central ID database and risking another catastrophic data breach.
GUILTY of willful intent to undermine our right to own and control our biometrics.
etc, etc...
The fingerprints of Wolfgang Schauble, Germany's interior minister, who believes strongly in the collection of "citizens' unique physical characteristics as a means of preventing terrorism" has already been got. Look out Smith and Brown.
What's good for the goose is good for the gander surely...
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Another concerned parent blogging about fingerprinting children
Another parent has set up a blog after their high school in Derry, Northern Ireland, fingerprinted pupils WITHOUT parental consent - worth a read - http://stopfingerprintingschoolchildren.blogspot.com/
"Oakgrove College Derry, a secondary school in the north of Ireland has fingerprinted most of its pupils to "help speed up school meals". Parental consent was not sought before this mass fingerprint piracy was launched. This sneak attack on civil liberties should be opposed by every parent who cares for the personal data of their children"
With no surprise at all the DCSF's (DfES) guidance is being totally ignored by schools (if they even know it exists). The Information Commissioner's Office states that schools doing this, not involving parents, is "heavy-handed".
Heavy-handed it may be but schools do it. Until the law is changed this children's biometric market grows - with every penny of it being generated by the taxes we pay.
There is a growing band of annoyed, concerned parents voicing their anger and worries on this.
The NO2ID message board on biometrics in schools is getting busier with more parents outraged that their children have been fingerprinted and posts on there from concerned students too with lots of good advice there too.
Good for the parent who's started that blog - more people should know about this.
"Oakgrove College Derry, a secondary school in the north of Ireland has fingerprinted most of its pupils to "help speed up school meals". Parental consent was not sought before this mass fingerprint piracy was launched. This sneak attack on civil liberties should be opposed by every parent who cares for the personal data of their children"
With no surprise at all the DCSF's (DfES) guidance is being totally ignored by schools (if they even know it exists). The Information Commissioner's Office states that schools doing this, not involving parents, is "heavy-handed".
Heavy-handed it may be but schools do it. Until the law is changed this children's biometric market grows - with every penny of it being generated by the taxes we pay.
There is a growing band of annoyed, concerned parents voicing their anger and worries on this.
The NO2ID message board on biometrics in schools is getting busier with more parents outraged that their children have been fingerprinted and posts on there from concerned students too with lots of good advice there too.
Good for the parent who's started that blog - more people should know about this.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Australian school stops fingerprinting students after allegations of intimidation
Having been away for a while seems that things have been a little busy.
In Australia it seems that some heavy handedness was used to fingerprint students for monitoring attendance levels at Ku-ring-gai High School .
A quote from one Year 12 student shows that the school maybe should be spending money on educating the children in their care as it is quite clear that this student really has not grasped how government institutions should operate, "Perhaps a lesson from this is that parents and students should involve themselves in the school community and in the decisions being made on their behalf." what?!- no, the school should be asking express permission from parents and debating whether or not this level of technology is needed and how better money can be spent.
But then when it is alleged that school staff intimidated and insulted students who were unwilling to take part in the trial, then truancy sounds like the least of the problems at Ku-ring-gai High School.
Good for student Brad Lorge who refused to be fingerprinted! "When I began to question, I was informed that I would be stupid to not comply and that there was no reason for me to not provide my fingerprint," he said. "It was intimidating. I was the only one out of the four who refused to provide my fingerprint."
..and this from an ex-student there.
Needless to say that the biometric fingerprinting system is currently on hold at the school.
In Australia it seems that some heavy handedness was used to fingerprint students for monitoring attendance levels at Ku-ring-gai High School .
A quote from one Year 12 student shows that the school maybe should be spending money on educating the children in their care as it is quite clear that this student really has not grasped how government institutions should operate, "Perhaps a lesson from this is that parents and students should involve themselves in the school community and in the decisions being made on their behalf." what?!- no, the school should be asking express permission from parents and debating whether or not this level of technology is needed and how better money can be spent.
But then when it is alleged that school staff intimidated and insulted students who were unwilling to take part in the trial, then truancy sounds like the least of the problems at Ku-ring-gai High School.
Good for student Brad Lorge who refused to be fingerprinted! "When I began to question, I was informed that I would be stupid to not comply and that there was no reason for me to not provide my fingerprint," he said. "It was intimidating. I was the only one out of the four who refused to provide my fingerprint."
..and this from an ex-student there.
Needless to say that the biometric fingerprinting system is currently on hold at the school.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Fingerprinting children for food reduces schools "annoyances"
On the fingerprinting of children for food in schools, doubts arise:
“The benefits certainly do not justify the privacy violations that we’re seeing,” said Alessandra Meetze, executive director of the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
But Beverly Blough, the director of food service in Wood County School District, West Virginia, cited that the pressures of No Child Left Behind was the reason why West Virginia schools used biometric systems -apparently it would...
“ ...reduce the annoyances that would take the principal and staff away from education and focusing on things that were relatively minor in a student’s day.”
A mother, Joy Robinson-Van Gilder, from Illinois who has been instrumental in bringing about a change in the the law in Illinois to limit/regulate how biometric technology is used with children, said:
“It just opens a huge database out there that’s just easy for identity theft, I think it’s against their civil rights, without a doubt, and it is an invasion of privacy.”
“The benefits certainly do not justify the privacy violations that we’re seeing,” said Alessandra Meetze, executive director of the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
But Beverly Blough, the director of food service in Wood County School District, West Virginia, cited that the pressures of No Child Left Behind was the reason why West Virginia schools used biometric systems -apparently it would...
“ ...reduce the annoyances that would take the principal and staff away from education and focusing on things that were relatively minor in a student’s day.”
A mother, Joy Robinson-Van Gilder, from Illinois who has been instrumental in bringing about a change in the the law in Illinois to limit/regulate how biometric technology is used with children, said:
“It just opens a huge database out there that’s just easy for identity theft, I think it’s against their civil rights, without a doubt, and it is an invasion of privacy.”
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Biometrics - what data is logged alongside our childrens biometrics?
There is a really informative article here by Rachel Wareing about schools in Sussex, UK, implementing children's biometrics for these reasons:
Parents can see what their children are eating for lunch.
Teachers do not have to waste time taking a register. [!]
School librarians no longer have to issue books.
...others to see what reading habits our children have, by gender, age and ethnicity - sensitive information needs to be dealt with under the UK Data Protection Act.
Parents can see what their children are eating for lunch.
Teachers do not have to waste time taking a register. [!]
School librarians no longer have to issue books.
...others to see what reading habits our children have, by gender, age and ethnicity - sensitive information needs to be dealt with under the UK Data Protection Act.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
£25,000 biometric cashless system bought - based on "commonly perceived benefits"
At the end of January Sophie McKeand's child's school told parents they were "introducing a "cashless catering system", where children will pay for their school dinners using either a fingerprint identification system or a pin number". This is in Flintshire, Wales.
Sophie rightly objected "to have such important and sensitive biometric data being taken from children for a matter as trivial as buying lunch is absolutely absurd."
Since then Sophie has been busy finding out, via the Freedom of Information Act, just how much these systems cost (using our tax money), where the funding is coming from, who made the decision to implement such systems, etc. - interesting reading indeed.
Her Freedom of Information questions and answers, for Flintshire County Council, are on the "Biometrics in Schools" forum over on the NO2ID site.
Here are a few questions and answers:
3. What is the FULL, TOTAL AND FINAL cost of this system in Alun School?
A3.The full cost of the system in the Alun School is as follows:
PCS Systems £20,905.00
Software £ 1,062.32
Installation £ 1,162.50
Server £ 283.14
Printer etc. £ 574.00
Writing/Electrics £ 1,162.50
TOTAL £25,149.46 [this is cost for one school]
1. I wish to be provided with ALL cost / benefit analysis that have been completed concerning anything whatsoever to do with implementing these cashless systems in Flintshire schools. Not just for Mold Alun but for all schools in Flintshire as stated in the quote from the first letter from Alun School, above. This includes all equipment, maintenance and IT services.
A1. The Council holds no information regarding a cost/benefit analysis. [What?]
The commonly perceived benefits however, are that..... then follows some drivel about reducing bullying and enabling children to eat before afternoon registration, up take of free meals increased, blah, blah.
So, lets get this right...
...the council spends 25K of our money on a biometric/pin cashless catering system purely based on "commonly perceived benefits" - with no cost/benefit analysis to justify such expenditure?
IMHO this sounds like jawdropping negligence.
Flintshire County Council sound like they've been sold a line. "Commonly perceived benefits" that are backed up with absolutely no academic or government literature, but I guess probably literature from sales persons.
It would seem that the implementation of the systems (that were originally proposed to be run throughout all Flintshire Schools, which would be around £250,000 of taxpayers money) has not been a completely open and transparent process, as reported today:
"Cllr Ray Dodd said he shared some of Miss McKeand's concerns. "I am surprised that this biometric system has been introduced in a school already without any consultation with elected councillors.
The education department said there has been extensive consultation, I have not been able to establish any consultation with county councillors,"
Sophie rightly objected "to have such important and sensitive biometric data being taken from children for a matter as trivial as buying lunch is absolutely absurd."
Since then Sophie has been busy finding out, via the Freedom of Information Act, just how much these systems cost (using our tax money), where the funding is coming from, who made the decision to implement such systems, etc. - interesting reading indeed.
Her Freedom of Information questions and answers, for Flintshire County Council, are on the "Biometrics in Schools" forum over on the NO2ID site.
Here are a few questions and answers:
3. What is the FULL, TOTAL AND FINAL cost of this system in Alun School?
A3.The full cost of the system in the Alun School is as follows:
PCS Systems £20,905.00
Software £ 1,062.32
Installation £ 1,162.50
Server £ 283.14
Printer etc. £ 574.00
Writing/Electrics £ 1,162.50
TOTAL £25,149.46 [this is cost for one school]
1. I wish to be provided with ALL cost / benefit analysis that have been completed concerning anything whatsoever to do with implementing these cashless systems in Flintshire schools. Not just for Mold Alun but for all schools in Flintshire as stated in the quote from the first letter from Alun School, above. This includes all equipment, maintenance and IT services.
A1. The Council holds no information regarding a cost/benefit analysis. [What?]
The commonly perceived benefits however, are that..... then follows some drivel about reducing bullying and enabling children to eat before afternoon registration, up take of free meals increased, blah, blah.
So, lets get this right...
...the council spends 25K of our money on a biometric/pin cashless catering system purely based on "commonly perceived benefits" - with no cost/benefit analysis to justify such expenditure?
IMHO this sounds like jawdropping negligence.
Flintshire County Council sound like they've been sold a line. "Commonly perceived benefits" that are backed up with absolutely no academic or government literature, but I guess probably literature from sales persons.
It would seem that the implementation of the systems (that were originally proposed to be run throughout all Flintshire Schools, which would be around £250,000 of taxpayers money) has not been a completely open and transparent process, as reported today:
"Cllr Ray Dodd said he shared some of Miss McKeand's concerns. "I am surprised that this biometric system has been introduced in a school already without any consultation with elected councillors.
The education department said there has been extensive consultation, I have not been able to establish any consultation with county councillors,"
Sunday, March 09, 2008
Iowa rejects the re-introduction of fingerprint scanners in schools
Des Moines Register, Iowa, USA, reports the bills that are up for debate, and therefore possible legislation, and those that are not to be debated and made into law.
"...state lawmakers pushed dozens of bills through committee, saving them from today's so-called "funnel" deadline. The week is a pivotal time for legislation. Bills that made the deadline will be debated. Those that failed the funnel are done."
Biometric fingerprint scanners in schools didn't make it through the 'funnel'.
LIKELY DEAD
FINGERPRINT SCANNERS: Some schools want to be able to use fingerprint scanners to speed children through lunch lines, the library checkout and bus boarding. State lawmakers outlawed the devices for school use in 2005 amid concerns about legal issues, privacy and information hacking. And this idea was stripped from Senate Study Bill 3010 this year.
"...state lawmakers pushed dozens of bills through committee, saving them from today's so-called "funnel" deadline. The week is a pivotal time for legislation. Bills that made the deadline will be debated. Those that failed the funnel are done."
Biometric fingerprint scanners in schools didn't make it through the 'funnel'.
LIKELY DEAD
FINGERPRINT SCANNERS: Some schools want to be able to use fingerprint scanners to speed children through lunch lines, the library checkout and bus boarding. State lawmakers outlawed the devices for school use in 2005 amid concerns about legal issues, privacy and information hacking. And this idea was stripped from Senate Study Bill 3010 this year.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
Parents to be consulted about biometric systems in Sussex school
Warden Park School in Cuckfield, Sussex, could be using childrens fingerprints for paying for school lunches:
"The biometric technology could be introduced at the school as early as June if parents support the proposals.
Using pupils' fingerprints in schools has been criticised by many MPs, including Sussex Conservatives Nick Gibb and Tim Loughton, who fear sensitive information about children could fall into the wrong hands.
Mr Loughton, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, has said it is another step towards a surveillance society."
At least the school is going to consult with parents but according to headteacher Steve Johnson hundreds of schools in the region now used the technology.
If Warden Park School make their decision in favour of the technology a Freedom of Information Act Request could be in order to determine:
"The biometric technology could be introduced at the school as early as June if parents support the proposals.
Using pupils' fingerprints in schools has been criticised by many MPs, including Sussex Conservatives Nick Gibb and Tim Loughton, who fear sensitive information about children could fall into the wrong hands.
Mr Loughton, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham, has said it is another step towards a surveillance society."
At least the school is going to consult with parents but according to headteacher Steve Johnson hundreds of schools in the region now used the technology.
If Warden Park School make their decision in favour of the technology a Freedom of Information Act Request could be in order to determine:
Our public money cost. Cost/benefit analysis. (One such system sold to a school in Leeds, according to the Headteacher on BBC Radio 4 "You and Yours" programme, cost £14,000 - after a Freedom of Information request this turned out to be over £27,000 - only a slight misrepresentation of 13K of our money!)A spokesperson from the company hoping to sell the system to the school stated that the "guidelines from the Department for Children, Schools and Families made it clear data could not be passed to any third party organisations" - erm... not quite true, see Q50 & 51 in parliament.
Where/which budget the money to purchase system is coming from.
The extent of parental consultation.
How this technology can "reduce bullying" i.e. related bullying figures re: catering before installation.
How many instances of "children stealing other pupils' dinner money" happened before biometric catering system installed.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
American Civil Liberties Union voice concerns using childrens fingerprints for food purchase
Chuck Samuelson, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, Minnesota on the possible introduction of fingerprint scanners for lunch lines at Oltman Junior High in St. Paul Park and East Ridge High School.:
"This is a solution in search of a problem. It just baffles me. Of all the problems schools face, is this really an issue?"
Officials think it will speed up lunch lines, solve the problem of children forgetting their ID numbers and prevent identity theft (?!)
But the comments from the biometric vendor in this article are quite bizarre and would be funny if they weren't so seriously off the mark :
"There always seems to be this knee-jerk reaction that somehow, some way, a person is giving up their identity." - putting a child's biometric details on a relatively unsecure system, biometric details that have to be secure for the lifetime of the child, decades in fact, for insignificant tasks such as paying for food I would argue IS most definitely "giving up their identity" to significant risk.
When you bear in mind the obvious fact that computers are advancing at a great rate along with transferable softwear from biometric database to biometric database (and with that hackers abilities) that using childrens biometric for mundane administrative tasks is wholly inappropriate.
This biometric vendor goes on to say:
"It's absolutely the opposite. It actually protects a person's identity." - right...
"This is a solution in search of a problem. It just baffles me. Of all the problems schools face, is this really an issue?"
Officials think it will speed up lunch lines, solve the problem of children forgetting their ID numbers and prevent identity theft (?!)
But the comments from the biometric vendor in this article are quite bizarre and would be funny if they weren't so seriously off the mark :
"There always seems to be this knee-jerk reaction that somehow, some way, a person is giving up their identity." - putting a child's biometric details on a relatively unsecure system, biometric details that have to be secure for the lifetime of the child, decades in fact, for insignificant tasks such as paying for food I would argue IS most definitely "giving up their identity" to significant risk.
When you bear in mind the obvious fact that computers are advancing at a great rate along with transferable softwear from biometric database to biometric database (and with that hackers abilities) that using childrens biometric for mundane administrative tasks is wholly inappropriate.
This biometric vendor goes on to say:
"It's absolutely the opposite. It actually protects a person's identity." - right...
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