On February 18, 2010, CSDL President Brian Zimmer sounded off on secure driver’s license issues with Darby Cartun on “Darby and Friends” AM 1490 WGCH. The program was broadcast at 5 PM on 2/18 on local Connecticut radio and the podcast of the show is available to listen to right here.
Points Covered:
· What is the mission of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License?
· What is a secure driver’s license or a secure ID?
· Myths and facts about secure DLs / IDs.
· What Connecticut needs to do to reduce the risk of foreign terrorists obtaining drivers’ licenses or IDs.
· Continued risk from foreign terrorists.
* Note: Content has been edited from original broadcast to remove commercial information and unrelated material
Click here to download the Podcast in .mp3 format.
PRESS RELEASE
Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License (CSDL) Recognizes Virginia Department of Motor Vehicle Personnel for ID Security Improvements
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
12/21/2009 – Brian Zimmer, President of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License, recognized today fifteen Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles(DMV) personnel for benefiting public safety by making significant improvements to Virginia’s drivers’ licenses and ID cards.
The Certificates of Appreciation, handed out by Mr. Zimmer at the Richmond office of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles, recognizes staff for “participation in the team effort by employees of the Department of Motor Vehicles to significantly improve the security of Virginia Driver License and Identity Document issuance in calendar 2009, thereby benefitting public safety.”
“The most important component of any identity document is security, which we take very seriously," said DMV Commissioner D.B. Smit. "As part of updating Virginia's driver's license, we made sure it had several different security layers so Virginians can feel confident in their credential."
Mr. Zimmer commended the Virginia Commissioner Smit and Virginia’s front line DMV personnel saying, “This is a well deserved award. Virginia did an excellent job.”
Earlier this month, after a comprehensive survey of the states, CSDL chose Virginia to receive an award for Document Security Excellence for the state’s new physically secure driver’s license and ID card.
The new driver’s license and ID features black and raised clear laser engraving of biographical data and a primary photo image into the body of a polycarbonate card and other hidden security features. The new Virginia driver’s license/ID is now one of the most counterfeit resistant state issued credential in the United States.
Through the leadership of Virginia DMV Commissioner D.B. Smit and others, DMV personnel also implemented numerous processes to prevent ID fraud and facilitate law enforcement investigation of potential fraudsters.
The following people received CSDL’s Certificate of Appreciation on December 21, 2009;
Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles
D. B. Smit, Commissioner
Karen Chappell, Deputy Commissioner
David Mitchell, Deputy Commissioner
Dave Burhop, Chief Information
Officer Karen Grim, Assistant Commissioner for Driver and Vehicle Services
Pam Goheen, Director of Communication
Jeannie Thorpe, Director of Human Resources
Don Boswell, Director of Law Enforcement Services
Robert Irving, Director of Customer Services Delivery
Candace Dreher, District Manager
David Bigness, IT Project Manager
Diane Maloney-Nicholls, Workforce Development Director
Lisa Jones, Analyst
Pam Schwartz, Database Administrator
Mike Baxter, Deputy Director for Motor Carrier Services
CSDL’s state recognition awards program was established by the Board of Directors of the Coalition for a Secure Driver’s License (CSDL) in April, 2009, to annually memorialize distinctive achievements of individual state agencies or document security companies. The security improvements made by driver licensing agencies should be acknowledged because Identity Documents are an important component of modern life.
The security improvements made by driver licensing agencies should be acknowledged because Identity Documents are an important component of modern life. The presentation of a state issued driver’s license or state issued ID is required for many legal and financial transactions as well as being confirmation of the privilege of driving. Consequently, the issuance of drivers’ licenses and state issued ID cards is one of the most important government responsibilities in our society.
CSDL is a national organization generating public awareness of the link between weak driver’s license rules and the ease with which terrorists and criminals can obtain false identities. It is non-partisan, with an office and staff located in Washington, DC, and more than 5,000 members/ donors nationwide.
State Recognition for Document Security Excellence Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles For Significant Improvements Completed in 2009 That Benefit Public Safety
· Photo images of all driver’s license applicants taken at the beginning of the process as a counter fraud measure;
· Implementation of a “photo mismatch” process that temporarily suspends transactions to facilitate law enforcement review and/or investigation in situations where previous photo doesn’t seem to match with appearance of the applicant;
· Delivery of drivers’ licenses and Identification Documents via mail to identify use of false addresses;
· Creation of a fraud hotline for direct, anonymous reporting of DMV related fraud cases, with cash rewards for fraud tips;
· Establishing centralized card issuance at a secure facility;
· Black and raised clear laser engraving of biographical data and primary photo image into the body of the polycarbonate material of the cards;
· A second photo image is laser engraved on a clear window, providing a visible picture from front and back of the card;
· Incorporation of hidden images seen only via ultraviolet illumination, and use of fine lines, variable patterns, micro-lettering and other features that cannot be reproduced with a desk top printer.
CSDL is a 501 (c) (3), non-partisan, not for profit, crime prevention, educational charity based in Washington, D.C. Its central purpose is to raise public awareness that weak state systems for issuing drivers’ licenses and IDs increase the risk from foreign terrorists and domestic criminals who can fraudulently assume new identities to escape detection by law enforcement.
Our activities include producing factual information addressing public safety and fraud prevention benefits of stronger identity authentication procedures and the issuance of counterfeit proof identity documents. CSDL undertakes research projects addressing best practices for DMVs, fraud detection and prosecution and related identity management topics.
As part of its education and advocacy efforts, the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License monitors efforts by Congress, state government officials and their professional organizations to pass legislation providing for driver's licenses, non-driver's identification and shared databases of holders of such identification.