The Biometric Daily

By the end of the last century I had the privilege to be involved in one of the first pilots for the new biometric passports. Although the technology wasn't as advanced as most biometric readers today, the technology was the least of the problem.
The biggest problem for the government was to solve the businesscase.
Let's face it; only once a year you go on holiday to a foreign country and maybe once a year you sign an official document. The investments are hugh, PKI, smartcards, complex enrollment procedures etc, how can this investment be justified? One of the conclusions of the pilot was that there simply wasn't enough "government" related traffic to justify the introduction of an electronic ID on short term.
The turnaround for biometric passports came after 9/11. Suddenly the interest for having a solid business case for biometrics was gone. It was all about security. Governments worldwide were pushed into a race to be the first in having an electronic passport. Germany won.
But now, having the electronic ID, governments start to think about making more money with the thing.
Wouldn't it be nice to access your company's network with your wireless electronic passport? The HR doesn't need to file a copy anymore. Big Brother just checks your identity and allows you to go to work. Science fiction? No, these sort of applications will be developed the next 5 years. But I question whether we should be happy with it.