Electronic passports raise privacy fears
The US State Department will soon begin issuing passports that carry information about the traveller in a computer chip embedded in the cardboard cover as well as on its printed pages.
Privacy advocates say the new format – developed in response to security concerns after the September 11 attacks – will be vulnerable to electronic snooping by anyone close by, a practice called skimming. Internal State Department documents, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union under the Freedom of Information Act, show that Canada, Germany and Britain have raised the same concern.
“This is like putting an invisible bull’s-eye on Americans that can be seen only by the terrorists,” said Barry Steinhardt, the director of the ACLU Technology and Liberty Program. The organization wants the State Department to take security precautions like encrypting the data, so that even if it is downloaded by unauthorised people, it cannot be understood.
I don’t think that is to much to ask – - the information should be encrypted if they insist on it being in there at all.
Agreed!
Yeah big brother is creeping up on us slowly and we should say we dont wan to be tracked all over the country by big brother we dont mind GPS but we dont want big brother in our homes or our lives:mad:
Encryption seems possible, though it’ll add to the cost of getting a passport. I suppose that if you don’t travel, that doesn’t matter.
But these passport chips are readable at a distance of under six inches. Anybody getting within six inches of your passport while you’re strolling down the street is also going to get your wallet. I find the complaint a touch hysterical.
John let’s say you are sitting in a crowded waiting room in the airport. The chairs are lined up in rows and are attached to one another with a steel pole that runs along the floor – - not unlike many airports in the US and abroad – - a person sits down next to you and the arm rest is now the only thing that divides the two of you – - how many inches is that? Where is your passport? Is the complaint really frivolous?
How many times do you pay for a passport? It’s not like you buy a new one everytime you travel overseas. Also, we are talking about a few keystrokes here. This is not some “new” program we need to test and develop. I would say that you can not afford to not have it encrypted.
Reilly,
Yes, actually, it is frivolous. Even in the crowded waiting room you describe, the distance is still over 24 inches. You can posit a “jostling crowd in a line, butt-to-belly,” but the distance is still greater than the range of the chips’ transmitters.
And if six inches is too much, then lowerin the power of the transmitter so that the range is measured in millimeters rather than inches would take care of it. I’ve had plenty of ID cards to access secure areas that needed to be placed directly on a reader to open the door. We’re really not talking about becoming WMEE transmitting on 1000 Kw.
Passports are now valid for 10 years for adults, five for children under 16. It currently costs $55, but that price is probably going to $100 soon, even without the chips.