Fighting UK online fraud with iPods

A UK official recently proposed the idea of providing everyone with a free iPod, each harboring a digital certificate to combat online fraud. Patrick Cooper, head of applications and data services in the UK Department of Trade and Industry said the iPod strategy would be a more cost-efficient alternative to other government plans to combat online fraud, such as modifying the proposed National ID Card with a PIN or password system which would allow it to work as an online authentication device, according to a report from CNET News.com. Giving each person an iPod nano rather than adopting the ID card scheme would reduce costs by roughly £360 per-person, prior to any bulk discounts Apple might offer on a 60 million unit order, according to the report.

"If you had a mobile phone with a digital certificate, you could dock it into your PC. An iPod with a digital certificate would also work," Cooper said. "My boss would give everyone in the U.K. an iPod. That would also mean there would be no reason for anyone to steal one, because everyone would have one."

Filed under: iPod, industry