Identity is a National (Security) Asset

“It lies at the core of a great deal of what we do protecting our financial security, our personal security, and our reputational security,” Chertoff said. “And what I’m referring to is how we manage and protect our personal identities because I’m going to submit to you that in the 21st Century, the most important asset that we have to protect as individuals and as part of our nation is the control of our identity, who we are, how we identify ourselves, whether other people are permitted to masquerade and pretend to be us, and thereby damage our livelihood, damage our assets, damage our reputation, damage our standing in our community.” – Michael Chertoff