US gets RFID passports

The Register ^ | Tuesday 15th August 2006 | John Oates

[Syntyr]

Thank goodness I just got my renewal Non RFID passport...

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Damnit, my passport is up for renewal NEXT year.

[mewzilla]

FWIW....

Expert: German E-Passports Not Secure

[CheneyChick]

I just got my new one last week. What does the RFID version look like?

[PissAndVinegar]

Why?

Afraid of shorter waiting times @ customs?


(most kneejerk fears will go away when people learn & understand the specs of the RFID in use)

[sigSEGV]

Yeah. So secure...

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/52270.html

[ASA Vet]

Carry it in your tin foil pocket.

[Leatherneck_MT]

"Why?

Afraid of shorter waiting times @ customs?


(most kneejerk fears will go away when people learn & understand the specs of the RFID in use)"


Until then the sheep will continue to bleat that all is ok, that guvmint knows best and can always be trusted.

[longtermmemmory]

serious question to techno savy:

Will a cigarette case protect the passport from unwanted rfid reading?

Or would a leather bilfold cover be enough?

Thinking personal security when traveling abroad.

[Spiff]

NEC Computers, your accredited Catalist IT supplier The passport includes "metallic anti-skimming material" - tin foil, presumably. It also uses Basic Access Control technology to protect it from skimming or eavesdropping.

The current anti-skimming measures only work if passport is completely closed. Even a slight opening of the passport would allow skimming.

See this proof of concept video I found at Zone-H (a popular hacker website) and that was presented at Black Hat 06 (a hacker conference) which demonstrates a solution from a company called Flexilis.

[FreeManWhoCan]

I want one!

[Belasarius]

So it's not possible to put a bomb in a trash can and use an rfi reader to detonate it when a US passport holder walks by?

[Spiff]

I want one!

As RFID technology increasingly finds its way into various identification documents, credit cards, and such you will see a growing market for shielded wallets and other enclosures to protect from skimming. Skimming, cloning, and even the introduction of viruses (yes, it has been done) are just some of the potential vulnerabilities to RFIDs.

[who_would_fardels_bear]

In order for people to inspect your passport you need to remove it from whatever shielding you have it in.

Also, in some countries you need to leave your passport with the hotel you are staying at.

In such cases the passport can be exposed for long periods of time.

You need to require all people that hold your passport to insert themselves into faraday cages.

[DManA]

Ho boy. Just mailed in my renewal this morning.

[PissAndVinegar]

Currently no....(unless you built one already?) If one did exist and said US Passport holder has their passport open, facing said trash can, and is close enough for the reader/detonator to pick it up....then maybe

But again, you'd have to learn & understand the specs first.

And honestly, like terrorists care if they kill only Americans?!?! They blow up 'American Interests' including US based hotels whose clientele is predominantly muslim.

[GOP Jedi]

Here's why this is a bad idea: Imagine a RIFD sensor hidden in a newspaper dispensor at the exit of some Third-World airport or hotel. Imagine data-linking this sensor to a tripod-mounted machine gun hidden across the street so that the gun aims at each RIFD for three seconds. Imagine the gun was shooting as it worked its way through the crowd.

[GOP Jedi]

That's RFID...

[JerseyHighlander]

http://www.difrwear.com/

Buy all of your faraday cage passport rfid signal blocking clothing and accessories here.

There are also a few other companies selling essentially the same function with different stylish forms (handbags for ladies, concealed passport holders, pants, jackets, etc.).