Airport fingerprint checking? Ha! What a crock!

[DerGolgo]

http://yro.slashdot.org/story/09/12/08/ ... ?art_pos=2

squizzar writes in with news of a 27 year old Chinese woman who was discovered to have had her fingerprints surgically swapped between hands in order to fool Japanese immigration.
"It is Japan's first case of alleged biometric fraud, but police believe the practice may be widespread. ... The apparent ability of illegal migration networks to break through hi-tech controls suggests that other countries who fingerprint visitors could be equally vulnerable — not least the United States, according to BBC Asia analyst Andre Vornic."

Hold on! I thought biometrics were supposed to make the whole world totally safe, make fraud and crime impossible, heal the sky and make the birds sing again!

Just goes to show that people will always find a way to hack security.

[Sisyphus]

Sounds like bullshit to me.

[Ames]

"GATTACA" anyone?

[Photo]

"I belonged to a new underclass, no longer determined by social status or the color of your skin. No, we now have discrimination down to a science."

I feel like such a de-gene-rate.

[Flatline]

"GATTACA" anyone?

That's what I was thinking.

[stiles]

"GATTACA" anyone?

Or lower tech, like the old school criminals that burned off their fingerprints with battery acid...

[UndertheGun]

The new Japanese rules requiring photographing and fingerprinting of foreigners upon entry, or reentry if you're already a Japanese tax paying permanent resident visa holder, are idiotic. As a precedent that other governments could imitate, its plain scary.

The fingerprints, etc. will be stored for 70 years, blah blah blah. I was ignorant to the fact that these requirements existed before I went this last summer. They didn't exist the last time I went in 2004. I'd have been more upset about it if my prints weren't already on record from my concealed pistol permit.

The really questionable part of this is that this policy was implemented by the Japanese government as an anti-terror tool. They say it is necessary for “the effective prevention of contagious diseases and terrorism.” Of course, the only terrorist attacks that Japan has suffered since we firebombed and nuked them have been at the hands of Japanese nationals. Aum Shinrikyo nerve gas attacks, radicals reacting to local issues, anti-US base incidents, etc. Concerning contagious diseases, the number of Japanese traveling internationally make the containing the spread of disease at the airport terminal an impossibility.

In reality, as highlighted by this original article, this is just an extension of the regressive and xenophobic immigration policy Japan is so well known for.
I'm sure Jonny can expand upon this.

[DerGolgo]

The new Japanese rules requiring photographing and fingerprinting of foreigners upon entry, or reentry if you're already a Japanese tax paying permanent resident visa holder, are idiotic. As a precedent that other governments could imitate, its plain scary.

Ehm...didn't the USA start this "trend"?

http://www.dhs.gov/files/programs/editorial_0525.shtm

When you arrive in the United States

By air and sea:
A Customs and Border Protection officer will guide you through the inspection process. Have your travel documents ready, such as your passport and Form I-94 or Form I-94W.

The officer will review your travel documents and ask you questions, such as why you are visiting and how long you will stay.

The officer will scan your fingerprints and take your photograph with a digital camera.

The officer will tell you when you have completed the process.

[UndertheGun]

I'd totally forgotten about it.
Either way, just another unnecessary control. And a particularly silly one in Japan's case.

[thesoapster]

"GATTACA" anyone?

That's what entered my mind. I mean, then you'd have to get the fake finger covers with someone else's blood and all, but still.