Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

U.S. Biometric Passports By Late 2004

Posted by michael on from the papers-please dept.

truthsearch writes "The Register is reporting 'Current plans call for the new passport books to include a contactless smart chip based on the 14443 standard, with a minimum of 32 Kbytes of EEPROM storage. The chip will contain a compressed full-face image for use as a biometric. European biometric passports, by contrast, are planned to feature both retinal and fingerprint recognition biometrics on their smart cards.' How they tie this to '9/11 fears' is curious considering the hijackers had valid paperwork."

10 of 421 comments (clear)

  1. False Privacy by Frothy+Walrus · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Even though we have better-than-32K resolution in the
    Analog photos in our passports, I bet that at least half
    The Slashdot readership's back hair is standing on end.

    Maybe this is a privacy concern. Maybe. Especially if
    You're concerned about automatic face recognition and such.

    Anyone could create a device which could match your face from a
    Scan of your passport photo. And your retinas can even be
    Scanned while you're in line. What's the big deal here?

    1. Re:False Privacy by eyegor · · Score: 5, Informative
      Although I agree with much of your post, retinal scanning from a distance is pretty far-fetched. Think about how a lens works for a second. In order to see a significant portion of the retina, you'd have to be very close.

      Iris scanning is possible from a bit farther away click here for info and facial scanning from even further away.

      --

      Don't anthropomorphize computers, they don't like it.
    2. Re:False Privacy by CracktownHts · · Score: 5, Interesting
      Right on. My passport (US) has a digitized photo anyway, so I would assume my digital mug is floating around in a Federal computer system somewhere. Given that airlines generally (if not universally) maintain passport numbers in the passenger manifest of any flight in and out of this country, it's a trivial matter to have the pictures up and ready when the flight lands at its port of entry.

      The European scheme, with fingerprints and retinal scans, would disturb me a bit more if I were subject to it.

    3. Re:False Privacy by stuyman · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What sort of worries me about the use of fingerprints and such is that they provide information to the government that has uses outside of matching you to your identification. If they have your fingerprint stored in a computer, then they can just go fingerprint all the soda cans or whatever thrown out after that anti-IMF rally and produce a list of everyone who was there. The trick is to legislate against these things, and maybe if we really wanna be cool we could pass a constitutional amendment protecting privacy (the nebulous interpretation of one existing now is subject to change whenever the supreme court gets bored).

      We can use technology to protect our privacy, and we can use technology to eliminate it, so we'll have to keep ourselves safe and free with legislation instead. We outlaw murder, not knives...

      --
      Q:Doctor, how many autopsies have you performed on dead people?
      A:All my autopsies have been performed on dead peop
  2. Privacy... by __aaklbk2114 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Excuse me, whoever posted this story forgot to add the following line somewhere in the summary:

    "The privacy implications here are worrying, and this sets a bad precedent, IMO."

    Slashdot editors, please make this correction immediatly.

  3. Better than DNA Matching by Gefiltefish11 · · Score: 5, Funny


    Better to match on appearance than somethning more insidious and Ashcroftian (look mom, I made a new word!)...

    Please bleed in the cup, Mr. Anderson. We need to match your DNA to this passport.

  4. challenge? by r_orourke · · Score: 5, Funny
    "With this approach "you can read a chip and confirm its validity, but you cannot create one." said Moss.

    What is that? A challenge?

  5. Bio "Metrics" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Makes sense for Europe. We'd have to coin a new phrase for our system here in America. Something that denotes that it's base 12...

  6. Welcome.. by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    Welcome to the United State of America. Allow the nice lady at the counter to take your picture, retinal scan, fingerprints, blood sample, stool sample, urine sample, hair follicle, oral swab. After that please check one of the two YES or NO boxes next to "I AM A TERRORIST" statement.

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  7. Take off your goddamn tin-foil hat. by Dr.+Bent · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Woah! This is going way too far....A picture in a Passport! The audacity! Won't anyone think of the 4th admendment? I should quit my job and join the Michigan Milita. Viva La Revolution!

    Come on people....If this had been done 5 years ago the response would have been "A digital picture in my passport? SWEET! One more thing I can try to hack..." Not everything is a facist government conspiracy to rob you of your freedom. Sometimes it's just using technology to make something better.