ICE

In the wake of 7/7 a new initiative has been worming its way around London. ICE. Not the overly loud drum and bass eminating from socially inconsiderate teenagers (that's ICE as in "in-car entertainment", although the definition of "in" is a bit of a misnomer), but the ICE meaning "In Case of Emergency".

This is a number you put in your mobile phone and is the one used if you run into problems. It's a layer of indirection to "Mum" basically. But naturally, it doesn't need to be your mum, it can be your partner, house mate, boss or porn buddy.

I'm currently thinking of a proposal for individuals who act as their own sysadmins, where their 'root' passwords can be held in escrow, and the list of people to contact in case of emergency/fatality can be held in a similar fashion. I have a lot of on-line contacts my family know nothing about, and I would want them to know should something happen to me. In fact, I have a lot of on-line contacts most of my other on-line contacts don't know about.

Any solution needs to be secure (the idea of a "Dave is dead" prank is horrific), and have total integrity. I guess some 'dead man login switch' could be constructed with very little Ruby-on-rails code. For the moment, I'm relying on a hidden page on my web site, with the same name as the phone number of my ICE, and a few basic instructions. In this way, you can only fake my own death by knowing two personal things about my life (and by stealing my phone). But that isn't secure enough for me.

Any ideas?