Apple Kills Fake ID App
App Creator Fires Back
An app designed to let Apple users create fake identification cards has been pulled after a complaint by a United States Senator. However, it remains unclear exactly how said application could actually be used to create a fake ID.
The app in question is called "License" and was produced by DriversEd.com. It allows Apple users to take goofy pictures of themselves and their friends and then place those photographs on a fake automotive license template.
All in good fun? Maybe, but not in the eyes of Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey. He believes the app can only present problems for law enforcement and those individuals responsible for protecting the public. In a recent letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook (and subsequently released by the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License), Casey noted that "National security systems depend on the trustworthiness of driver’s licenses, yet with a counterfeit license created by the app, a terrorist could bypass identity verification by the Transportation Security Administration, or even apply for a passport."
Apple hasn't yet made a statement about the issue but did pull the app from its popular App Store.
That decision wasn't well received by DriversEd.com; in a recent statement, company representative Gary Tsifrin argued that his firm had included a number of measures in the software designed to make created IDs clearly fake. Those safeguards included using fonts distinct from those used on real IDs, low image resolutions, and the DriversEd.com logo. In essence, any police or border security officer fooled by one of these fake licenses would have to be a foolish one, indeed.
Furthermore, Tsifrin says it would be just about impossible to take the virtual ID and create a physical copy. "It would take a lot more expertise to rejigger the driver’s license app [to create a fake license]," Tsifrin said. "It would be much easier to start from scratch."
Tsifrin added that the app has been available for a couple years now and, to date, hasn't yet been cited as a legitimate source for creating fake ID cards.
Overall, Tsifrin says he believes Casey had his heart in the right place but was mistaken to finger DriversEd.com's "License" as a legitimate threat to national security.
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