[It seems to me that the Eurocratic impulse, while understandable, relies on two important assumptions: end users cannot modify their own software, and the software vendor (or an affiliate) is subject to European law. Neither of these assumptions tends to be true when we're talking about free or open source software. First, I'd imagine this currency-detection feature in GIMP (a Photoshop-esque GNU program) being implemented in an #ifdef that can easily be turned off at comple time. Second, GIMP development seems to be coordinated by some Berkeley students, who may or may not care what some random government is demanding. --Declan] http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,6903,1232480,00.html Security clampdown on the home PC banknote forgers Banks win EU support for software blocks to tackle the cottage counterfeiters Tony Thompson, crime correspondent Sunday June 6, 2004 The Observer Computer and software manufacturers are to be forced to introduce new security measures to make it impossible for their products to be used to copy banknotes. The move, to be drafted into European Union legislation by the year end, follows a surge in counterfeit currency produced using laser printers, home scanners and graphics software. Imaging software and printers have become so powerful and affordable that production of fake banknotes has become a booming cottage industry. Though counterfeiters are usually unable to source the specialist paper on which genuine banknotes are printed, many are being mixed in with genuine notes in high volume batches. The copies are often good enough to fool vending machines. By using a fake £20 note to purchase a £2 rail fare, the criminal can take away £18 in genuine change. Although the Bank of England refuses to issue figures for the number of counterfeit notes in circulation and insists they represent a negligible fraction of notes issued, it also admits fakes are on the increase. Anti-counterfeiting software developed by the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence Group, an organisation of 27 leading world banks including the Bank of England, has been distributed free of charge to computer and software manufacturers since the beginning of the year. At present use of the software is voluntary though several companies have incorporated it into their products. The latest version of Adobe Photoshop, a popular graphics package, generates an error message if the user attempts to scan banknotes of main currencies. A number of printer manufactures have also incorporated the software so that only an inch or so of a banknote will reproduce, to be followed by the web address of a site displaying regulations governing the reproduction of money. The software relies on features built into leading currencies. Latest banknotes contain a pattern of five tiny circles. On the £20 note, they're disguised as a musical notation, on the euro they appear in a constellation of stars; on the new $20 note, the pattern is hidden in the zeros of a background pattern. Imaging software or devices detect the pattern and refuse to deal with the image. ... _______________________________________________ Politech mailing list Archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ Moderated by Declan McCullagh (http://www.mccullagh.org/)
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