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Privacy vs. Security: Biometric E-Passports

Posted by michael on from the no-fly-list dept.

ftblguy writes "Countries such as the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Canada, US, Australia, and New Zealand are currently looking into adding RFID chips to citizens' passports. The chips would contain data such as a digital image of the person's face. A real-time facial scan of the carrier of the passport would then be matched to the data encoded in the chip. But privacy advocates such as CASPIAN are concerned that this data could get into the hands of the wrong people or that governments could use the data to track their citizens as they go about their personal business. But, with all of the terrorist threats lately, bringing passport documents into the digital world is sure to increase security."

4 of 227 comments (clear)

  1. Not effective by lachlan76 · · Score: 4, Informative
    This is NOT a secure system, since you could put in a fake picture of a face into a passport.

    Biometric systems are not secure as a means of authentication, they are too easy to fake.

    The three ways you can authenticate a person are:
    1. What they are
    2. What they have
    3. What they know
    A good security system combines at least two of these. This one does, but since it only authenticates against what you have, it is not very good. If each passport had a key encrypted with a passphrase (like in PGP), and you needed the passphrase to use it, you would have good protection against stolen passports.

    But these don't do that.
  2. This may decrease security... by Homology · · Score: 4, Informative
    But, with all of the terrorist threats lately, bringing passport documents into the digital world is sure to increase security.

    Why should that increase security? Perhaps there will be even more opportunities for forgeries. From Bruce Schneier' Crypto-Gram

    There's one other problem with identity documents: the ease of getting legitimate documents in fraudulent names. Several of the 9/11 terrorists obtained fraudulent IDs from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles by paying a corrupt employee $1000 each. These weren't fake IDs. These were real IDs in fake names, with all the holograms and micro printing and whatever else the driver's licenses have to make them hard to forge.

  3. Only one thing you need to know by SmallFurryCreature · · Score: 4, Informative
    The 9/11 terrorists had perfectly legal passports. So they wouldn't have been stopped no matter how good the biometrics. The various terrorist organisations got plenty of members who spend enough time in the west to get legal papers. They really don't need to bother with forgeries.

    This isn't about the war on terrorism or even "regular" crime. It is about the war on illegal papers as used in illegal immigration.

    Another point is that many european countries are getting closer and closer to introducing mandatory ID to be carried at all times. Add RFID tags and the next easy step will be to add RFID receivers everywhere to track every person.

    What, current law would prohibit it? So? This is europe, home of the holocaust. It is not what use tracking everyone will have now. It is what it will be used for 20 yrs from now.

    --

    MMO Quests are like orgasms:

    You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.

  4. Re:Just wait by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Show me the 50 bombs.

    Who's believing a fairy tale?

    "They're doubting us again, better arrest a lot of people and say they had bombs. Who's been pissing us off the most lately?"