Character
- Intent: Establish a form of identification with stronger safeguards against forgery for those with Confederacy of Independent Systems residency, visa, or work permit status.
- Image Source: Starline on FreePik
- Canon Link: Identichip
- Permissions: N/A
- Primary Source:
- Manufacturer: Confederacy of Independent Systems
- Affiliation: Confederacy of Independent Systems
- Model: Verifiable Authenticity, Resiliency, and Standardization (V.A.R.S.) Identicard
- Modularity: The card cannot be modified once issued; but the Personally Identifiable Information can be updated following a workflow that is heavily reviewed for accuracy and validity.
- Production: Mass-Produced
- Material: Plasteel, Electronic Security Features/Circuitry
- Resistant to being Counterfeited or Forged
- Multi-Factor Identification
- Resistant to being Counterfeited - Use of a centralized database (with local planetary databases also being available) of scrutinized information and monitoring provides a level of confidence around the Confederacy's Identicards few other governments can come close to matching.
- Positive Identification - The managed database(s) and multi-factor identification ensure the identity of the Identicard carrier for government, business, and personal usage. All carriers must possess this Identicard plus at least one of the following additional means of verification; this is accomplished either by utilizing the built-in electronics or those of a kiosk at any designated location:
- Whenever possible: palm vein and geometry (bone structure), or
- If necessary: fingerprints or other unique and distinguishing biological pattern or feature, or
- Otherwise physically incapable of supplying one of the preceding means of identification: a sufficiently complex passphrase in accordance with the Ministry of Commerce's standard on such.
- Universally Issued - All registered persons throughout the implementation of the V.A.R.S. Identicard initiative under V. R. Bill 0502 received a complimentary Identicard at no cost. Future cards will also be issued at no cost to those that come of age. Internal security remains of paramount importance.
- Weakest Link - All effort was made to secure the centralized database of all Confederate citizenry and personages Personally Identifiable Information. However, while the same should be true for local copies of a particular planet's residents such systems may be subject to expert slicers creating manufactured identities.
- Paperwork - All sentients will be required to fill out the appropriate paperwork. Once the information has been thoroughly verified by a task force of dedicated personnel, an Identicard will be issued; a process that may also require a bit of time.
- Replaceable - An Identicard is not constructed to shot a blaster bolt or a knife, it is not made to slice carrots, or prop up hovervehicles. It is a small piece of mostly plasteel. If damaged, seek a replacement at your nearest government facility or submit a request via secured government holonet channels.
The Confederacy of Independent Systems is serious about ensuring the safety and security of those within its borders; and to ensure those people and their worlds are kept safe its government has mandated that a standardized and counterfeit-resistance Identicard be issued to everyone living or working within the Confederacy in addition to the Multi-pass used by visitors from outside of the Confederacy's borders. A rash of incidents involving forged identification mandated an increase in scrutiny and security around identifying the validity of someone's identity, and this card was designed to rise to the occasion.
The Confederate government was also mindful of the concerns that come with such a universal system, and engaged its greatest scientific and technical minds to design the security used by and surrounding the databases to validate the identification of those using these cards. They were also mindful that all the people of the Confederacy may find funds for something being thrust upon them short, and as a result have waived fees regarding the issuing of these Identicards. However, there is a matter of time necessary to complete the paperwork, but the Bill set to mandate the use of these Identicards had several years built-in to allow for planets to meet the security standards, distribute them to all residents and workers, and ensure the adoption of their usage.
One feature only beneficial to planetary governments is the allowance of locally hosted databases containing only the information needed to positively identify carriers of an Identicard that reside or work on their planet. This was permitted to ensure even in the event of a communication breakdown the system could continue to function; thus limiting the need to temporarily detain people to only those attempting to land on a world they had not been to before until communication with the central database could be restored. However, this consideration is not without its security risk... The central database containing a copy of all information has enough security to keep slicers out according to John Locke and Visanj T'shkali. While the local databases are also mandated to implement all appropriate safeguards as well, it is always possible there could be unpatched vulnerabilities or backdoors elsewhere in their systems allowing for unauthorized manipulation of data. Fortunately, this invalid data will not successfully be uploaded to the central database in most cases due to on-going monitoring and vetting of such transactions; but it may still allow for unauthorized access on the planet whose database was compromised. The anti-counterfeiting technology is technology, and at some point sentients have to pick up when someone isn't who they claim to be.