Recent newspaper articles have reported that Vermont’s new $1.5 million voluntary Enhanced Driver’s License/ID (EDL/ID) program may pose a security risk because of flaws in its RFID tags. Critics of the program claim that the cards can be easily cloned and the radio receivers used to read them are vulnerable to attack. The tags are already in use in the Nexus system, a card that allows border crossers to use a separate lane to cross the border more quickly. The shortfalls inherent in the EDL/ID system could be avoided by using the high frequency (HF) technology already in use in smart cards and the new ePassport system. EDL/ID will enable Vermonters to cross into Canada and come back. Starting in June 2008, a passport or equivalent documentation will be required at all North American border crossings as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

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