back to article Trump guts digital ID rules, claims they help 'illegal aliens' commit fraud

President Donald Trump late Friday signed a cybersecurity-focused executive order that, in the White House's words, "amends problematic elements of Obama and Biden-era Executive Orders." In his last few days in office, President Biden signed a executive order (EO) focused on cybersecurity that aimed to eliminate the use of …

  1. abend0c4 Silver badge

    The more fraud and insecurity...

    ... the greater the opportunity to declare an "emergency".

    1. Someone Else Silver badge

      Re: The more fraud and insecurity...

      There is also the financial angle. I can imagine a "friendly " nation-state (OK, Russia or Saudi Arabia), making a pledge to buy a handful of tRump Dogecoin if only that pesky and oh-so-inconvient l'il Biden-era security thingie were to dissappear....

    2. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: The more fraud and insecurity...

      Senator Palpatine has entered the chat.

  2. Guy de Loimbard Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Just read the article

    The only thing I can say, is accurately reflected in the choice of icon.

    Who on earth is advising this gelatinous, orange Eton Mess?

    In fact, I think an Eton Mess (look it up) may be a better choice for drafting and issuing EOs in the White House!

    This really is cretinary of the highest order!!

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Just read the article

      Is the President:

      1, A Russian asset

      2, A Chinese asset

      3, A N. Korean asset

      4. A moron

      4, All.of the above?

      1. Fr. Ted Crilly Silver badge

        Re: Just read the article

        Yes...

        1. The commentard formerly known as Mister_C

          Re: Just read the article

          and there was me thinking you'd answer with "that would be an ecumenical matter"

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Just read the article

        6: All of the above, as well as South African by birth, while the president we thought was elected, is just a ceremonial figurehead at this point

        1. Alister

          Re: Just read the article

          You seem to be a little out-of-date.

          I doubt very much if the Orange One is taking any advice or anything else from the South African one.

          1. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Just read the article

            What about the other South African, the really evil one....

            1. bongripper

              Re: Just read the article

              Diplomatic immunity!

          2. Anonymous Coward
            Anonymous Coward

            Re: Just read the article

            Looks like you bought a premium pay-per-view ticket to governmental kayfabe. You really think the CEO of America would give up presidential power that easily, especially after just grabbing literally all of the personal info ever on everyone that has ever set foot in this country since the invention of the transitor, when he hasn't had a chance to use that power to do something with that data?

            ...Especially since he's still salty about people that "still call it Twitter" and would very much like to have all of us disappeared, most likely. But yeah, that beef on the Birds-Aren't-Real App was more scripted than the worst thing WWE has ever put on TV.

            1. ecofeco Silver badge

              Re: Just read the article

              Exactly. Musk give up? After the biggest data heist of human history?

              Only a sweet summer child would believe that.

      3. martinusher Silver badge

        Re: Just read the article

        I read an article today that outlined the way that that the US's foreign policy has been systematically stripped of checks and balances, its now exclusively a tool of the executive. This process has been ongoing for decades but by and large the incumbent President has either neglected or chose not to executive this dictatorial level of power. Now we've given a rather ignorant and vain individual control of this vast power, he neither really understands no knows how to use, this not only drags down the reputation of the US but also makes it supremely easy for our 'adversaries' to be the global good guys. Our press continues with its style sheets, constantly referring to people as 'dictators' and comparing their societies to our 'democracies' but its got to the point where it just looks silly.

        Calling Trump an 'asset' like a character in a summer spy novel is just the last desperate gambit to try and convince people that what they're seeing makes sense.

  3. Philip Storry
    FAIL

    Dumb

    So now the standards for digital IDs and the security around them will be determined by other states. Europe, China, Japan. But not the USA.

    Trump really is the dimmest bulb in the ugliest of gold plated yet surprisingly dim chandeliers...

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Dumb

      The plan was just to use your Twitter account to vote, but now he's fallen out with his best boy....

      1. DS999 Silver badge

        Re: Dumb

        Did they seriously suggest that?

        It is sad that it is no longer possible to tell sarcasm from reality when it comes to the orange moron and his band of worshipping cronies.

        1. ecofeco Silver badge

          Re: Dumb

          Yes, he seriously suggested that. But that was some time ago and not recently.

          1. DS999 Silver badge

            Re: Dumb

            I almost wish they tried it just to listen to the tortured logic from the right about why mail-in voting is terribly insecure, even in person voting requires bringing a picture ID, but voting via Twitter is a great solution!

      2. that one in the corner Silver badge

        Re: Dumb

        > The plan was just to use your Twitter account to vote, but now he's fallen out with his best boy

        all US citizens will be required to log into TruthSocial to vote instead.

        Any votes cast by unauthenticated accounts will still be counted, but, as we can't be sure you really are who you claim you are, we'll just assume you meant to vote for DJT (any other choice must have been made by someone impersonating you - really should get authenticated, you know).

        You can have your account authenticated and display the coveted "it's not a wig" badge to demonstrate that; simply pay the low, low fee of five TrumpCoin - on a rolling subscription, payable every (full terms available on application by any authenticated account, subscriptions may be cancelled, along with your suffrage). As a special offer to subscribers you will be spared the tedium of voting - our online valet service will press the button for you.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Dumb

      Global standard for digital IDs?? Tell me you're an NWO fanboy without telling me!

      BTW, here's a perfect example of the Hegelian Dialectic at play. Trump says digital ID bad = Anti-Trumpers get a hard on for it. Roll on the next Democrat administration and the immediate implementation of said digital ID.

      I really wonder whether the masses will ever sus the false left-right paradigm, or whether it will work for the elites in perpetuity.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Dumb

        So is Donald Trump really a deep state agent for Hilary Obama and is trying to bring down the Republican party from within so George Soros can introduce global communism with a secret cabal of Wall St bankers - or is that just what the MMB want you to think?

      2. Rich 2 Silver badge

        Re: Dumb

        @AC - I’ve read what you wrote a couple of times now. Nope - still no idea what you’re trying to say

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Dumb

          @Rich 2

          Thesis -> Antithesis -> Synthesis

          Problem -> Reaction -> Solution

          Divide & Rule

          Goes by lots of names but it's fundamentally the same playbook that's worked for millennia.

          Keep the little people fighting among themselves, throw in some bread & circuses now and again et voilà! They won't notice while you walk out the door with the loot.

      3. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Dumb

        Yep the more turnip says no Digital ID (replacement for SSN) that can be used to lock you out of everything with one click, the more the opposition will be able to push it through. One way or another we will be branded from birth eventually. Glad I won't be around for it.

    3. TimMaher Silver badge
      Coat

      Re: Dim chandeliers

      You’ve seen “Only Fools and Horses” “A touch of glass”?

      Brilliant.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    "President Trump’s reasoning..."

    You got me with those three words.

    He has the reasoning skills of a potty training toddler.

    1. blu3b3rry

      Re: "President Trump’s reasoning..."

      Generous of you to assume he has any reasoning skills at all.

    2. Boris the Cockroach Silver badge
      IT Angle

      Re: "President Trump’s reasoning..."

      You're assuming that he can use a potty in the first place.

      Reliable rumour is that he wears training pants at all times

      1. Citizen of Nowhere

        Re: "President Trump’s reasoning..."

        Except when he is "interacting" with Russian prostitutes who are definitely not wearing training pants.

    3. Gary Stewart Silver badge

      Re: "President Trump’s reasoning..."

      My current working theory is that Trump has been replaced by a robot and "AI" (emphasis on the ""). The main evidence for this is the obvious differences between parts of his medical reports and his actual appearance. I'm still working on how he gets 77 million Americans to hallucinate the same things he does. Gives a whole new meaning to autopen.

      1. Gary Stewart Silver badge

        Addendum

        Meanwhile the real Trump has gone "To the happy home with trees and flowers and chirping birds and basket weavers who sit and smile and twiddle their thumbs and toes

        They're coming to take me away ha ha..."

        1. This post has been deleted by its author

        2. Someone Else Silver badge

          Re: Addendum

          How old are you?

          Nobody remembers that song...

          1. Wincerind

            Re: Addendum

            How dare you call me nobody

          2. JimboSmith

            Re: Addendum

            How old are you?

            Nobody remembers that song...

            Oi, I resemble that remark!

            1. Ken Shabby Silver badge
              Holmes

              Re: Addendum

              More memorable than the B-side “!aaaH, yawA eM ekaT oT gnimoC er’yehT.”

          3. bombastic bob Silver badge
            Trollface

            Re: Addendum

            I have it memorized since I was a teenager. Still funny every time

          4. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

            Re: Addendum

            "Nobody remembers that song..."

            I know! But how did you know that?

            (See monkika)

        3. NXM Silver badge

          Re: Addendum

          Banned by the BBC for a while as I remember

          1. bombastic bob Silver badge
            Devil

            Re: Addendum

            with luck you may have picked it up on the U.S. AM band (540-1600 khz) on a good night listening to Dr. Demento back in the 70's via "atmospheric skip"

      2. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: "President Trump’s reasoning..."

        Didn't Trump claim sometime recently that Biden was "done away with" in 2020 and was replaced by a robot? Could it be projection and he's admitting to be a robot? (he does come across all sort of ChatGPT-like in his rambles) ;-)

    4. DS999 Silver badge

      Re: "President Trump’s reasoning..."

      If they can't use digital IDs then they will continue to use printed IDs. He thinks THOSE are immune to fraud? It is trivial to counterfeit those documents, but digital IDs can include stuff that makes that far harder to copy or fake.

      I think Trump is just reflexively undoing everything Biden did just because he did it. Maybe Biden in his last couple months should have put in executive orders to do all the stuff Trump was going to do just to confuse the orange moron.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge

        Re: "President Trump’s reasoning..."

        "Maybe Biden in his last couple months should have put in executive orders to do all the stuff Trump was going to do just to confuse the orange moron."

        IIRC, that was suggested at the time in these very pages. I might even have been one of them, or I at least upvoted whoever did post it :-)

  5. breakfast Silver badge
    Facepalm

    True optimism

    Burris, however, remains hopeful that axing the digital identity section of Biden’s January EO will pave the way for the Trump administration to enact more substantive protections.

    Well, good luck with that.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Conspiracy theory:

    Seems like part of a strategy to make it easy to separate a large part of the population from a large part of its assets. (See also Crypto — a perfect place for your pension pot.)

  7. ecofeco Silver badge
    Pirate

    Help commit fraud

    If there is one thing you can count on as sure as the sun rises, it's a Republican projecting.

    He just told us they, the current GOP, ARE going to commit fraud. Wait, I mean more fraud. ------------------------->>>>

  8. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Self-regulate

    Instead of forcing software providers to submit so-called "secure software development attestations" to CISA, the order makes secure-by-design practices voluntary.

    Would that be like the FAA allowing Boeing to self-regulate on the 737-MAX?

  9. frankyunderwood123

    Bankrupt the USA?

    Every business Trump has owned and managed has lost money.

    The US economy will be no exception.

    I guess the real reason behind this is to save big tech money and possibly make it easier for favoured scumbags to commit fraud.

    And as someone has already mentioned, it ramps up the reasons to declare convenient emergencies as the US speeds towards authoritarianism.

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Bankrupt the USA?

      If he does destroy the treasonous colonies - should he get a knighthood ?

      1. Andy Non Silver badge

        Re: Bankrupt the USA?

        Can the ceremony be done with a light sabre?

  10. Kev99 Silver badge

    His lover must be ecstatic.

  11. An_Old_Dog Silver badge
    Facepalm

    Digital Identities for Illegal Immigrants

    I can see it now: black-painted military HMMWVs and vans cruise ethnic neighborhoods, their loudspeakers blaring, "ATTENTION, ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS! ... GET YOUR DIGITAL GOVERNMENT ID CARDS ... ASSEMBLE AT NOON AT THE OLD FAIRGROUNDS ..."

    I expect there would be very-few illegal immigrants showing up for that.

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Digital Identities for Illegal Immigrants

      "I expect there would be very-few illegal immigrants showing up for that."

      It might work if you include promises of "free stuff"

  12. xanadu42
    Facepalm

    Key under front door-mat?

    Let's hope Tr*mp's ideas on security also apply to all his real-estate properties...

    Just walk up to the front door and look under the door-mat for the key?

    1. Joe W Silver badge
      Trollface

      Re: Key under front door-mat?

      Keys are for people who are poor!

      Well, too poor to have an army of servants to do their bidding 'round the clock. Do you think the dude opens his own doors? He has no concept of what a key is...

  13. Winkypop Silver badge
    FAIL

    Executive summary

    Trump is an idiot

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: Executive summary

      TL:DR

      - Trump

  14. Potemkine! Silver badge
    Mushroom

    It's amazing to see a country so obsessed with 'illegal aliens' when it is actually made up of descendants of people who stole other people's land by force.

    1. codejunky Silver badge

      @Potemkine!

      "It's amazing to see a country so obsessed with 'illegal aliens' when it is actually made up of descendants of people who stole other people's land by force."

      Shockingly how most of the worlds people ended up where they are.

      1. ecofeco Silver badge

        Re: @Potemkine!

        2 downvotes?

        How do people who fail grade school history even dress themselves?

        Have my upvote.

        1. codejunky Silver badge

          Re: @Potemkine!

          @ecofeco

          "2 downvotes?"

          I doubt they read the comment, I am certain they will be from my 'fanclub'

  15. dmesg

    "The only beneficiaries of this step backward are hackers ... , fraudsters ... , and legacy vendors who want to maintain lucrative contracts without implementing modern security protections".

    I pick door number three.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Mandated secure-by-design = No AI

    It's plain impossible to certify AI tools as secure-by design.

    So you either want:

    * improved security of software for critical government agencies and services

    * care more about AI toys and companies selling them then about secure services and ditch that requirement

    * leave the requirement but chose to not uphold it in any way.

    The government / Trump made its / his choice.

  17. FuzzyTheBear Silver badge
    Mushroom

    Stupid we all agree ...

    but there were people,a lot of them , that actually voted for that sinister clown and his circus. He was elected President. Americans voted for this. Not all , granted , but a majority. The rest , we can kick and scream at the idiot all we care to , but he's elected President and there's not much Americans can do about it except do what the French did a long time ago : take him and his circus to a guillottine and get rid of him. For the rest of the folks ( I'm Canadian so i include myself ) around the world , the only thing we can do is shake our heads and let the USA sink all it wants to. We should not interfere , we had warned them on all the tribunes about what was to come , they didn't listen , so let them bathe in the cesspool they created. I got no sympathy left for Americans because they're not moving against their dictator. Once they really start to move , maybe ill change my mind , but until then , let them enjoy the circus they voted for and hopefully that will be a lesson they will actually learn something from. Trump is incompetent in all aspects of life. There's nothing he's good at except blame the others for his fails. Get rid of him , until then :P enjoy your circus.

  18. Brl4n

    MS is still the default

    They use microsoft products almost exclusively in US government so I don't think anyone cares about IT.

    1. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: MS is still the default

      Ipso facto.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Broken clock

    His reasoning is stupid, but so is digital ID.

    It was just another way for the pigs to get their dirty little hands on your unlocked phone.

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