As if we ever needed any more proof that mass database "secure" personal information systems are potentially ridiculous at stopping any willing criminal from avoiding it, and thus only being effective at controlling, guiding and recording perfectly law abiding people, news reaches us that flaws with the Oyster card will be published. The system has been cracked and it means that countries all over the world now need to re-evaluate how much stock they put in these systems. But is it right to publish how to work around the system?

The answer is, blindingly obviously, yes! Those that actually want to do it will find out, they always do. Without putting this kind of thing in the open you simply cannot fix the problem or highlight the unfixable error. Hackers exist for this sole purpose, and yes there are plenty that try to cause grief to people but certainly at the beginning of the world wide web hacking was all about exposing weakness, challenging companies and coders to do better next time. Without someone there pushing back and saying "hey man, this shit isn't good enough and here's why" we will simply make do with unsatisfactory solutions.

This of course links nicely to the new "My Life, My ID" site that the Home Office has set up. Don't be fooled by the incredibly leading front page topics such as "Problem stories with proving your identity", the site is rife with the sentiment of how ID cards are an affront to our liberty. Indeed if Smith and the Home Office thought they could blind side the youth with something like this it is clear that they were grossly underestimating the will of people on this issue.

This overall makes me very glad, as it means I don't have to spend any time going in to fight the corner against the overly costly system, plenty of people are doing a good job on there already. If anything changes however I'll be sure to shout.