New passport (with Chips) ready to go, despite concerns
29 July, 2006
category: Biometrics, Government, RFID
The U.S. Department of State is ready to issue those RFID chip-infused passports, but security experts and others are still on edge about contactless interfaces – and systems getting accessed by hackers.
The new program will start in the Denver passport office and be rolled out across the country over the next several years. All American passports are expected to include RFID chips containing personal information by 2017, Computerworld reports.
Electronic passports improve security by making it harder to forge or alter official documents, say state department officials. If, say, a passport were stolen, the chip’s uniqe ID number would make it trackable by law enforcement personnel.