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Disabling the RFID in the New U.S. Passports

Posted by Zonk on from the very-high-tech dept.

slashchuck writes "Along with the usual Jargonwatch and Wired/Tired articles, the January issue of Wired offers a drastic method for taking care of that RFID chip in your passport. They say it's legal ... if a bit blunt. From the article: 'The best approach? Hammer time. Hitting the chip with a blunt, hard object should disable it. A nonworking RFID doesn't invalidate the passport, so you can still use it.' "

15 of 294 comments (clear)

  1. ObSneakers by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 5, Funny

    (Bishop is at a door with an electronic lock.)
    Bishop: Anybody remember how to defeat an electronic keypad?
    Mother: This might help. An old buddy of mine who was in Desert Storm sent it to me. 'Course, he was on the other side.
    Bishop: Come on. There's got to be a way around these things.
    (He listens intently to instructions via his earpiece.)
    All right, all right... This might work... Yeah. Yeah... Right. Okay. I'll give it a shot.
    (He kicks the door in.)

    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
    1. Re:ObSneakers by Dachannien · · Score: 3, Funny

      And here I thought you were going for, "My RFID is my passport. Verify me."

  2. DMCA by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    They'll just say you are violating the DMCA somehow if you bust the RFID in there.

  3. Re:No Hurry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    here's one: broadcast your personal data, allowing others to clone your passport and using it to enter the U.S. while you are off on holiday. Customs will surely take notice that you are trying to enter the country a second time.

  4. Ooops by dj961 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I dropped a hammer on my passport.

  5. Tags: dontaskquestions by 75th+Trombone · · Score: 2, Funny

    How far will you go to protect or disable the RFID chip in your passport? Do you think such a step is necessary? Does anyone have an argument in favor of the technology's implementation here?

    Or how about in opposition of it? What do you think are the legal ramifications of such a move? Who is likely to be hurt by this scenario? Who am I? What am I doing posting on Slashdot? When is my question-mark key going to break under stress?

    --
    The United States of America: We do what we must because we can.
  6. Re:Taking bets... by Perseid · · Score: 2, Funny

    Who cares? Does anyone still have any of his CDs anyway?

  7. Re:Taking bets... by multiOSfreak · · Score: 2, Funny
    How long until they make hammer possession a felony?

    Probably not long. And then only the criminals will have hammers. That's why we should all join the National Hammer Association.

    They can have my hammer when they pry it from my cold, dead hands.
    --
    Transistors and Beer!!
  8. Scrolling Name Badges by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 2, Funny

    This makes it so much easier to stalk people you've just met!

    A cookie for the first hacker who connects a portable RFID reader to one of those uber-geek scrolling LED name badges and writes out, "Hi, $FIRST_NAME $LAST_NAME, pleased to meet you!" whenever someone with a passport walks up to you.

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
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  9. Re:Great idea! by advocate_one · · Score: 2, Funny
    Personally, I think the Feds ought to focus more on people skills (i.e., well-trained, well-paid security forces with an effective organization to back them) and less on failure-prone, unproven technology.

    hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha... sorry... just had to laugh... you owe me a new keyboard...

    --
    Donald 'Duck' Dunn: We had a band powerful enough to turn goat piss into gasoline.
  10. Re:Tinfoil Passport Cover? by triffid_98 · · Score: 4, Funny
    Really? I'm pretty sure common thieves and pickpockets have had this technology for quite some time. See that 80 year old man in Baggage Claim with the hot 20 year old arm jewelry? I detect large amounts of currency.

    I'm pretty sure that a common thief or pickpocket is not sophisticated enough to have a piece of equipment capable of detecting large amounts of currency, if that's even possible.
  11. Re:No Hurry by rlp · · Score: 2, Funny

    ... because the people whose damn job it was to get it right did so.

    We ARE talking about the US government, aren't we?

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    [Insert pithy quote here]
  12. Re:Taking bets... by TheGratefulNet · · Score: 2, Funny
    yeah, but when all you have is a hammer, everything looks like NIN.

    or so I've heard..

    --

    --
    "It is now safe to switch off your computer."
  13. Re:Great idea! by pilgrim23 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Someone once said that all better ID control ever does is raise the costs for fake papers.. When I was young I worked a cattle ranch. Back then we had a handy gizmo for tagging the ears of cattle; White tags for cows, blue for steers, yellow for hefers. It made culling for slaughter so much easier. Nice to see this tech put to the next logical step.

    --
    - Minutus cantorum, minutus balorum, minutus carborata descendum pantorum.
  14. Re:No Hurry by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Hide 5 kilos of hash up your ass.