Universities are trying to implement digital ID cards. Here’s why they shouldn’t.
Sarah Allam | Illustration Editor
Apple's iOS 12 update will be coming out this fall.
Since the release of iOS 6, Apple has distributed updates to their devices each year, and the functions only get more and more impressive. With iOS 12 and watchOS 5 coming out this fall, students could have a new way to digitally interact with their campuses. The new update, Apple said, will add student ID cards to the wallet application.
A few universities in United States have already started to work with Apple to implement the digital student IDs to their campuses this fall — Duke University, Temple University and Johns Hopkins University will be the first to use the new feature.
While college students may enjoy this new feature, they may end up relying too heavily on technology to do so. Lives are already completely wrapped up in phones — consolidating all of our resources into one device might be a double-edged sword.
Jeffrey Fouts, an adjunct professor in the School of Information Studies, said the problem with keeping IDs on technology is that IDs are used to keep track of students. If a student loses the Apple watch, the technology goes down or students need to do something that requires a physical card — there needs to be a backup plan.
Reliability is just as important as functionality — manual entry of ID numbers may be a solution but doesn’t warrant a complete switch to digital IDs.
Considering security, despite the fact that iOS and watchOS are relatively stronger in terms of defending outside hackers, there are concerns about students’ information being leaked to third-party apps and unwanted hackers. This would lead to a series of problems that discourage students from using the system.
Apple’s plan to substitute student ID cards with Near Field communication technology, what essentially allows for tap and go features to work between two devices, isn’t worth the potential issues it will inherently bring.
Eldon Tsoi is a sophomore information management technology and accounting major. His column appears biweekly. He can be reached at eltsoi@syr.edu.
Published on August 28, 2018 at 9:23 pm
