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October 21, 2004
RFID chips to be put in US passports
The Americans are introducing passports with embedded 64 kb radio frequency identification (RFID) chips. The idea is to make passports more secure and harder to forge.
Information is not encrypted (because foreign governments are involved) but will bear a US government digital signature. The idea is that the information on the chip, including name, address, date and place of birth and a photo, should correspond with the information in the passport.
RFID is now used to track the flow of goods in supermarkets, also pets and livestock. Some people are sceptical about whether security will really be improved by including chips in passports. However the chips will make it easier for companies with the right equipment (hotels for example) to collect personal data.
www.wired.com/news/privacy/0,1848,65412,00.html/wn_ascii
Posted by Simon Holledge at October 21, 2004 08:11 PM
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