So how good are the newest licenses?

New JErsey now requires a lot of ID to get a license, and the print a pretty fancy license as well. It took me several hours, and two trips to get my licesnse renewed. Here's an article claiming (in an interview with a counterfeiter!) that these NJ licenses are un-fakeable.

So let me ask the inevitable question:

If they are so good, why aren't they good enough? Who need Real ID?

Can't they still be faked by insiders working with hackers?

Here's the fascinating quote:

One reformed counterfeiter, speaking on the condition of anonymity, explained how the Garden State Department of Motor Vehicles will be the laughingstock of bouncers no more.

"The new IDs that are being distributed in most of Jersey are basically counterfeit-proof, they're printed on credit cards with magnetic strips," he said. "With proper equipment, someone can tell if it's a real ID because the strip has to be programmed in such a way. There's a picture as well as a watermark picture on the card, which is hard to duplicate. And there are a number of holograms that show up at different angles and different light."