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E-Passport In the Works
ExE122 writes "In an attempt to curb falsification of passports, the United States has placed an order for millions of embedded ID chips. 'The chips carry an encrypted digital photograph of the passport holder. The chip is designed to be read by a special device that will be used by U.S. government workers who check passports when travelers come through border crossings. The State Department began issuing what are being called e-passports to tourists last week and will gradually increase production. State Department spokeswoman Janelle Hironimus said existing passports will remain valid until they expire but, eventually, all U.S. passports — about 13 million will be issued in 2006 — will contain such chips.'"
One of the things that is a lot more common today than it has been in American history, yes, even back in the "bumpkin days" of America pre-industrialization, is that people just don't critically think anymore. "Special device?" Anyone with a modicum of critical thinking skills would look at a few simple things and freak:
1) All computer security systems have been defeated.
2) This is kinda like one of them thar computer security systems that has been defeated.
3) I'm carrying this thing around the world, and any schmo who can defeat it, can identify me faster than the police can.
4) There are a lot of terrorists and terrorism sympathizers who'd just love to off me because I'm American.
If you aren't careful, you'll be broadcasting enough info out there that you'll be easily victimized.
And if we're already on the subject of the government, why are they spending all this money to make sure passports can't be faked, greencards can't be faked, etc., if there is absolutely positively nothing being done to stop the flood of immigrants, criminals, drugs, and terrorists that are crossing our totally unprotected borders into this country every day? Every time this issue comes up, idiots say it's racism. Sorry, it's not racism to stop people and things that shouldn't be here illegally from coming here illegally.
I used to find the low number of Americans with passports rather scary and insular until someone pointed out you only get 2 weeks vacation a year. With the US being so big and varied, it would take you most of your life in 2 week chunks to check out home let alone foreign places. :-)
Of course, us backwards wierdo liberal faggy Europeans get 6 weeks holiday
I want a list of atrocities done in your name - Recoil
What with the UK government wanting to force an ID card on us - seems applicable to Passports/Driving Licenses too.
Take a standard Credit Card sized plastic card.
Put a chip on it like credit cards use - not an RFID tag, just a simple chip that can store ONE piece of info.
That piece of data will be unique to that person, and is their ID in the system.
On the card we print a photograph, their name and date of birth.
When the card is presented at an appropriate terminal, a database lookup is done for the ID. The card reader then displays a "virtual" version of the card.
Visual inspection will allow the person doing the Identity Check to confirm the persons ID.
ID cards to be updated every 5 years, replacements for lost/stolen/damaged to be charged at cost, and be available within 2 working days, with designated places (like police stations) being able to print out temporary ID papers until replacement card arrives.
As long as downloads to terminals are encrypted, and the credentials of the operatives inputting data onto the system are checked, we have a secure system with no privacy concerns that SHOULD be cheap to implement.
Other systems, Passport Control etc could be tied to the database with your ID reference number becoming your Passport number - Give each person a pin number (or if you really insist use biometric information) and you have a bank/credit card that should also help prevent fraud.
Anyone see any holes in my plan?
So I went to the shop yesterday to buy a couple of PSP games. So I pull out my plastic debit card to pay with it. They have these numeric pads with a slot for the card and a small LCD display around here in a lot of shops. (The super-markets and such just ask you for a signature, but almost everyone else has a PIN pad.)
"Oh," says the clerk, "the connection's been down the whole afternoon."
It's not even the first time something like that happens. It's not often, but it does happen.
So for purchasing games or groceries, ok, I can just pull some banknotes out of the wallet. But it kinda scares me that I'd have to depend on something like that at an airport.
A polar bear is a cartesian bear after a coordinate transform.
In Germany we have RFID passports since last year. This despite much criticism (the old passports were considered one of the most secure documents ever). The new passport costs 59 euros, the old one was just 26 euros, so I got myself an old one just before the deadline.
:)
In my opinion, the e-passport was largely introduced to secretly subsidize the biometrics sector: The interior minister responsible for the e-passport, Otto Schily, joined two biometrics companies this month
Source (german only, sorry): http://www.silicon.de/enid/cio/21505