Slashdot Mirror
British "Secure" Passports Cracked
hard-to-get-a-nickna writes "The Guardian has cracked the so-trumpeted secure British passports after 48 hours of work:
'Three million Britons have been issued with the new hi-tech passport, designed to frustrate terrorists and fraudsters. So why did Steve Boggan and a friendly computer expert find it so easy to break the security codes?'"
Wait for a few minutes and you'll see ;) In the meantime, you might want to read the FAQ
"When I first heard Daydream Nation it quite frankly scared the living shit out of me." -- Matthew Stearns
Democracy works. We just need to thin the population down a little. I suggest a set of tests, and then firing squads.
Computer security on such a large scale is very, very difficult to get right.
They should have called in the experts, Microsoft!
"Sorry sir you can't travel this evening as you haven't run your RFID chip through Passport.NET Live Update recently. We recommend you do this every second Tuesday of the 6 months proceeding travel or you may lose your right to enter your home upon return."
"Sir, do you have the 25 digit customs key for your new passport? It should have been printed on the back of the envelope it came in."
Passenger: "Excuse me, I'm having some problems with Genuine Passport Activation. I paid £66 for this a month ago but when I tried to board the International Express 737 this morning I was told that wasn't genuine."
> I suggest a set of tests, and then firing squads.
If you skip the tests and move straight on to the firing squad you'll at least get rid of all the unlucky people - and let's face it, it's them who knock things over and break them, crash their cars etc...
Fine, but I get to design the tests....
Any sect, cult, or religion will legislate its creed into law if it acquires the political power to do so.
To get to the other side?
The revolution will not be televised... but it will have a page on Wikipedia
Aluminum foil, when wrapped around an RFID tag (or passport) makes it impermeable to the readers. Just think, a tinfoil hat for your passport! You'll look just like twins!
Then it would be perfectly secure, because nobody would bother to read the chip, just pontificate endlessly on what they *believed* was on it.
"My country, right or wrong; if right, to be kept right; and if wrong, to be set right." --Senator Carl Schurz (1872)