The Federal Register for October 25, 2005 details a “Final Rule” from the Department of State that mandates Radio Frequency ID tags to be embedded in all US passports:
SUMMARY: This rule amends the passport regulations to incorporate changes related to introduction of the electronic passport. The rule defines “electronic passport,” includes a damaged electronic chip as an additional basis for possible invalidation of a passport and provides for no fee issuance of a replacement passport if an electronic chip fails.But not everyone is happy …
A little further down in the discussion it says:
We received a total of 2,335 comments on the introduction of the electronic passport … 2019 comments listed security and/or privacy; 171 listed general objections to use of the data chip and/or the use of RFID; 85 listed general objections to use of the electronic passport; 52 listed general technology concerns; and 8 listed religious concerns.
So, approximately 1% of the comments were positive while 98.5% were negative. The majority rules? Apparently not. The needs of the state outweigh the desires of the public.
By October 2006 “all U.S. passports, with the exception of a small number of emergency passports issued by U.S. embassies or consulates, will be electronic passports.”
While the security measures used to protect unauthorized remote access to passport data look pretty good (see the Ars Technica article) the US government is also requiring that all other nations, at least those that might want their citizens to travel to the US, must comply!
The specification for the RFID chips adopted by the State Department is Type A or Type B contactless chips complying with International Standards Organization (ISO) 14443 and ISO 7816 which at least allows for other nations to easily implement the technology but you can be sure that this new rule won’t make us friends and will annoy many of those we still have left.
