We are now at least four decades past the point where we could reverse this trend of digital information capture. Use of the Internet will only serve to accelerate this process, and provide commercial vendors with a greatly enhanced opportunity to capture additional information about us all. Ultimately, smartcard technology, with its embedded microchip structure, will provide the capability to pull together information about each individual. Perhaps this will allow us to have more control over how our digital personae are constructed, and maybe provide the basis for the highest-level identity cards ever considered. But, of course, with this would come the need to provide extremely high levels of security and guaranteed privacy.
Privacy is a technology-neutral issue.
From the moment it is captured, throughout its life cycle and through to its ultimate disposal, the overall responsibility for data belongs to the organisation that requests it, and it remains that organisation's responsibility for the whole time that it is stored. Within this area, smartcards are no different from any other form of storage media. Smartcards currently cover the whole data spectrum, from very basic data with a low security rating, through to highly private and confidential information, and, of course, data that has the potential to be fraudulently used, such as credit and debit card information. There are a number of ways to protect data held on smartcards. For very high levels of security, biometrics and the digital persona certainly have a role to play.