Friday, October 27, 2006

Electronic passports are Go!

The deadline has passed for countries who have their visa-waivered to visit the US without an electronic-passport... the deadline was October 26th:

'Except for Andorra, Brunei and Liechtenstein, all of the 27 countries whose citizens can travel to the U.S. without a visa are now issuing "e-Passports," the department said in a statement. The passports include a radio frequency identification, or RFID, chip with the holder's information and a biometric identifier, such as a digital photograph.'

Yet there are security issues here:

The take-up of the electronic passports is bad news for privacy, said Bruce Schneier, chief technology officer of Counterpane Internet Security. "The risk in RFID passports is surreptitious access, and the security measures different countries are taking are varied in their scope and effectiveness," he said.

For protection, holders of an electronic passport should guard it well, Schneier suggested. "If you're stuck with one of these passports, use a photocopy whenever you can and keep the real one wrapped in tin foil," he said.


Well - this doesn't make people sleep easily... perhaps this will increase tin foil sales?

Read RFID passports take off

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