I know some folks in the Air Force - all of their ID cards have public/private keys stored on them. They use them (plus a pin) for logging onto their computers at work, all of their e-mails are digitally signed, and the computer is locked just by removing the card from the card reader. Most personnel don't know a thing about public key encryption/two factor authentication, and likely wouldn't care if you offered to explain it to them.
I can imagine this could easily get rolled out if you integrated the public/private keys into driver's licenses. A quick search online suggests that blank cards are about $.06 each in bulk [1], but smart card vary between $.60 and $1.50 [2] (don't take this as definitive - I have no experience purchasing them). I don't think anyone would care paying an extra, say $2 or so whenever they get a new license for the cost of the card plus recouping the cost of hardware to print them.
Phase it in over time - have hand-outs at the DMV answering "What's this funny chip on my driver's license?" Gradually phase it in over time for online tax payments/water bills/etc. - something like "your username and password will be good until {date reasonably far in the future}, but after that you'll need a card reader. You can purchase one for $15 from any of these retailers: ..."
Once both the cards and readers are in place, it's a lot easier to get the critical mass to push for stronger authentication from banks, online retailers, etc. People worried about privacy implication could purchase their own cards from independent retailers and put their own keys on them.
I can imagine this could easily get rolled out if you integrated the public/private keys into driver's licenses. A quick search online suggests that blank cards are about $.06 each in bulk [1], but smart card vary between $.60 and $1.50 [2] (don't take this as definitive - I have no experience purchasing them). I don't think anyone would care paying an extra, say $2 or so whenever they get a new license for the cost of the card plus recouping the cost of hardware to print them.
Phase it in over time - have hand-outs at the DMV answering "What's this funny chip on my driver's license?" Gradually phase it in over time for online tax payments/water bills/etc. - something like "your username and password will be good until {date reasonably far in the future}, but after that you'll need a card reader. You can purchase one for $15 from any of these retailers: ..."
Once both the cards and readers are in place, it's a lot easier to get the critical mass to push for stronger authentication from banks, online retailers, etc. People worried about privacy implication could purchase their own cards from independent retailers and put their own keys on them.
[1] http://www.smartcardsupply.com/Content/Cards/cards.htm
[2] http://www.smartcardsupply.com/Content/Cards/ISO7816.htm