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SUMMARY:Privacy and Identity - System Engineering and the Database State -
  Prof Ross Anderson\, Computer Laboratory
DTSTART:20070130T200000Z
DTEND:20070130T210000Z
UID:TALK6140@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:4259
DESCRIPTION:In recent years the UK government has embarked on a program of
  'transformational government' which seeks to centralise and automate many
  aspects of public services. A number of the proposed systems have caused 
 public unease\, including ID cards and the associated national identity ma
 nagement system\; the central databases being built to hold all NHS record
 s\; the proposed linkage of public-sector data on children\, including med
 ical. school\, social-work and police records\; and the proposal for a dat
 abase of all vehicle movements to support road pricing and crime fighting.
  \n\nThese systems raise many questions of interest to computer scientists
 . First\, there are several hard-science issues. What is naming\, and do u
 niversal naming systems bring real benefits? What are privacy and safety\,
  and how are their tradeoffs to be managed? What are the limits of dependa
 bility as systems become ever larger? There are also questions that bring 
 us into the social sciences. Why\, for example\, are public-sector systems
  projects more likely to fail than similar projects in industry? 
LOCATION:Pharmacology Lecture Theatre\, Tennis Court Road
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