Stop Driver's Licenses from Being "Enhanced" with Security Flaws

As early as next week, the California Assembly could vote on a bill (SB 397), which would allow the California DMV to distribute new driver's licenses "enhanced" with tiny computer chips called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags.

We've stopped Enhanced Driver's Licenses in their tracks for years here in California because they just aren't safe. With your help, we can do it again.

On its face, passing SB 397 and allowing the Department of Motor Vehicles to start distributing "enhanced" driver's licenses that can also be used for border crossing, might seem like a good idea for California. But dig a little deeper into how these new licenses work and you realize that they will contain tiny, insecure computer chips called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags.

Tracking, stalking, identity theft

Anyone with an RFID scanner could read your unencrypted unique identifier stored on these new licenses from 30 feet away, without us ever knowing. This exposes you to the risk of government tracking, allows stalking, and identity theft.

You would never allow a stranger to sift through your belongings and take your driver's license because you know just how important it is to protect your personal information.

How secure is secure?

The Department of Homeland Security is trying to sell Enhanced Driver's Licenses with promises that border crossings will become more secure. But even the country's largest electronics industry group warned years ago that using this technology would "perversely maximize the possibility...of an illicit actor 'tracking' a person at very long ranges" and that it was "highly susceptible to forgery."

California should not be allowed to distribute these insecure driver's licenses.