US Electronic Passport now issued....Bio-data included! Other countries to follow

It's the latest and greatest. I suspect that the electronic passport will not be limited to the U.S. The UK, Canada and many other countries will be sure to follow.

The Electronic Passport is already being field tested and will soon be mandantory for all American citizens wishing to obtain a passort. The old passport will phase out over the next 10 years (max years a passport is valid for).

Note: since it's a .gov site members in some countries may not be able to view the site....please excuse the excessive quoting

travel.state.gov
The proposed U.S. Electronic Passport is the same as a regular passport with the addition of a small contactless integrated circuit (computer chip) embedded in the back cover. The chip will securely store the same data visually displayed on the photo page of the passport, and will additionally include a digital photograph. The inclusion of the digital photograph will enable biometric comparison, through the use of facial recognition technology at international borders. The U.S. “e-passport” will also have a new look, incorporating additional anti-fraud and security features.

Passports without chips will still be valid for the full extent of their validity period.

I'm all in favor a more secure passport. Passport fraud is a big business these days, with US passports being the most desired. But who's to say that the government does not put more that just your facial recognition data on the passport? Maybe electronic DNA data or maybe fingerprints.....etc....

I seriously think this is a move that will bring us one step (more like a leap) closer to the one world government. If this was not implemented with a one world government in mind, it will sure come in handy when that time comes.

travel.state.gov
A biometric or biometric identifier is a measureable physical or behavioral characteristic of an individual, which can be used to verify the identity of that individual or to compare against other entries when stored in a database. Biometrics include face recognition, fingerprints and iris scans. The U.S. Electronic Passport will use the digital image of the passport photograph as the biometric identifier that will be used with face recognition technology to verify the identity of the passport bearer. For more information on biometrics, please consult

.


Just like with currency, passports will never be secure enough that they cannot be duplicated. The technology gets more advanced, but so do the bad guys.

Note: since it's a .gov site members in some countries may not be able to view the site....please excuse the excessive quoting

travel.state.gov
On December 30, 2005, the United States began to issue Electronic Passports. It is anticipated that all new full validity U.S. passports will be issued as electronic passports by the end of 2006.

********

Can a request be made for a new passport to be issued without a chip?

No. Once all Passport Agencies have been equipped to issue the new passport, all newly issued passports will be electronic.

********

Will someone be able to read or access the information on the chip without my knowledge (also known as skimming)?

This is often referred to as “skimming,” which is the act of obtaining data from an unknowing end user who is not willingly submitting the sample at that time. An example could be secretly reading data while in close proximity to a user on a bus. In this application, the chip is designed to operate within 10 centimeters (less than 4 inches) of a chip reader using appropriate public keys. Experts indicate that the information on the chip cannot be easily accessed surreptitiously. Even so, Passport Services plans to incorporate a reliable anti-skimming feature and Basic Access Control to mitigate the threat of skimming in all electronic passports.

To prevent skimming and eavesdropping of data, Basic Access Control (BAC) is employed. BAC is similar to a PIN used in ATM or credit card transactions. In the case of the electronic passport, characters from the printed machine-readable zone of the passport must be read first in order to unlock the chip for reading. Thus, when an electronic passport is presented to an inspector, the inspector must scan the printed lines of data in order to be able to read the data on the chip. To further protect against skimming, the U.S. e-passport will include a shielding material in the passport cover that will make unauthorized reading of the passport very difficult from any appreciable distance as long as the passport is closed.

Other websites:

schneier.com/blog
Facial recognition can be defeated, however for passport controls you can force people to take off hats, glasses and pull hair back. What bothers me is that facial recognition is the easiest way to profile people from a distance. By creating a database of facial images, that could then be compared as the test done at one superbowl not too long ago, what is to say they wont start tapping into muni cameras and feeding it the data from the passports?

www.msnbc.msn.com
WASHINGTON - Foreign travelers from friendly nations won’t be immediately asked to show fingerprint and iris scan data when entering the United States but could have to in upcoming years under Bush administration plans announced Wednesday

This applies to non-US residents just as much as it does to US citizens. Your country will be onboard soon.

New passports could introduce privacy and security risks.

Microchip passport critics say ID theft possible





Note: since it's a .gov site members in some countries may not be able to view the site....please excuse the excessive quoting





[edit on 31/3/2006 by SportyMB]

Great research sporty. Thanks.

Looks to me like it won't be that hard to lift data from these chips - and we'll see a whole new genre of "pickpockets." Kind of a cross between Gibson's Case and the Artful Dodger.

The UK is already onboard with the Biometric Passport.

Note: Official .gov.uk site

www.passport.gov.uk...
Over the last two years, the UK Passport Service (UKPS) has successfully implemented a range of new procedures and systems to prevent identity and passport fraud. In 2006, we are launching one of our most important counter-fraud initiatives, the Biometric Passport.

After reading through the site and comparing the specs and everything else, there is NO difference between the US and UK passports. The only difference is the artwork and personel information. Not a coincidence.....

Ofcourse the Government(s) justifies the Biometric passport being safe because there is an ATM like pin and only special card readers can access the data. It's only a matter of a couple years before these readers get into the wrong hands.

Do I need a Biometric Passport to enter the US?
The US Senate announced on 15 June 2005 a one-year extension (to 26 October 2006) to their requirement for biometric passports. This means that the digital passports that we currently issue (machine-readable, with a digital image) will continue to meet the criteria of the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) and most British Citizens will not require a US visa. Please visit www.usembassy.org.uk or www.fco.gov.uk for more detailed information about US visa and immigration rules.

[edit on 1/4/2006 by SportyMB]

What countries have banned .gov sites? I never had problems viewing any .gov sites anywhere i've been.

Also, I don't think the US passports are THE most desired, I think Canadian, Dutch and possibly some Scandinavian passports are more desired by immigrants because they have a much bigger social wellfare/health etc system that they can leech off of.

To Mexicans they would be desired since America is by far the closest to America than any of these countries.

Just one more step towards NWO and a world-police state.

[edit on 4/1/2006 by GrOuNd_ZeRo]

Originally posted by GrOuNd_ZeRo
What countries have banned .gov sites? I never had problems viewing any .gov sites anywhere i've been.

Just cause you have not had any problems visting .gov sites in the countries that you have been to, that does not mean that everyone else does not have problems. In China and South Korea .mil sites cannot be accessed.

Also some members do not like go to .gov sites from their home computers for their own reasons.

Also, I don't think the US passports are THE most desired, I think Canadian, Dutch and possibly some Scandinavian passports are more desired by immigrants because they have a much bigger social wellfare/health etc system that they can leech off of.

In 2004 there were 10 million US stolen (not lost) passports in circulation world wide, that's not including fake or illegal passports. That's more than Canada's 9 million valid/legal passports in circulation.

Whatever country has the highest passport fraud numbers is irrelevant, imo. The point is that all the hoop and jazz over government ID's is coming to reality. And not on a country scale, but on a global scale.

The United States, Australia, the UK, Austria, France, Italy, Malaysia, Denmark and many other European countries are already starting or planning to start issueing the Biometric passport in 2006.


[edit on 1/4/2006 by SportyMB]

Actually Malaysia issued these types of passports since 1998. It looks exactly like the picture you posted of the American passport, only it's red in colour.

www.iris.com.my...

Are passports Gov't property or personal property? I reason I ask, is simple. Why not just throw your electronic passport in the microwave for 10 seconds or leave it on an electro-magnet for a while. That would surely fry the embedded chip. Of course if the passport is Gov't property that would be a crime in the U.S.A. Anyone know who owns it?

Vas.

Why not just throw your electronic passport in the microwave for 10 seconds or leave it on an electro-magnet for a while.

Because you'll have one hell of a time trying to get pass customs

I'm not 100% on this, but in the US I think passports are government property, sort of like mail boxes.


[edit on 1/4/2006 by SportyMB]

Wikipedia has an interesting article on the Biometric Passport.

Actually Malaysia issued these types of passports since 1998.

Good point. I think the issue with this new series of Biometric passports is that all 27 VWP (Visa waiver program) countries will be tied in to the the same system or network. I'm not exactly sure how that would happen or how it's any different than the current system in place. The only difference might be that the current system will be updated with the bio data from all passport holders in the 27 VWP countries.

VWP countries
Andorra
Iceland
Norway
Australia
Ireland
Portugal
Austria
Italy
San Marino
Belgium
Japan
Singapore
Brunei
Liechtenstein
Slovenia
Denmark
Luxembourg
Spain
Finland
Monaco
Sweden
France
the Netherlands
Switzerland
Germany
New Zealand
United Kingdom

Finland will start issuing Biometric Passports 1st of August... most EU Countries will follow soon, because USA requests these to be applied...

And most sought after passport in probably Swiss since it allows you to travel into any country (some require visa, but due to swiss neutrality it's easy to obtain)

When my husband and I were leaving the U.S. he was required to provide a retina scan and fingerprint upon leaving the country.

The best way to keep yourself out of the system is simply to not travel beyond your own borders. However, this is impossible for many people. They have no choice.

Thanks for all of your work SportyMB in researching and posting on this very important subject. I have given each of your personal posts in the thread 5 stars and flagged the thread, as well; I would encourage everyone else who reads or posts here to do the same.

Personally, I believe that between the new biometric passports and the National ID program, the NWO has pretty much covered all of their bases. If all of the VWP countries listed actually do follow the USA's lead, we will essentially be living in a One-World Police State. To say I have a bad feeling about the whole thing would be the understatement of the century. It seems the PTB have put us all in a very small box, and done it quite nicely; it would appear that short of an all-out revolt by the average citizens of the world we are pretty much screwed, and I don;t place much trust in the average citizens ability to understand or protest the current situation.

With the new passports they also increased the price of getting one made
(luckily i got mine before the price hike)

biometric passports are cool
makes things faster aswell if your applying for something
example driving licence and so on

downside anyone can read the damn things with the right equipment

I opted to renew my UK 10yr passport August '06 as I heard that all new/renewals of passports after Oct 31st '06 would require a digital photo and biometric data.

Even so, when my new passport arrived, it had a chip-circuit on the reverse of my photo page. Biometric data (from what I understand) can't be scanned of a normal 'analogue' photo but could be gained from a digital photo...should be good to use until the Nat'l ID is introduced in 2009, then I leave the UK for good as an exile

Yep, the UK has been issuing them for some time now and I've had mine for best part of a year...

...during which time I have accumulated precisely zero stamps in it as within Europe nobody gives much of a damn.

However, I'll be winging my way to the land of the free next week so we'll see if it makes any difference very soon.

These "new and safer" passports do NOT protect your data. They like to claim, that since a PIN is needed to access the data they are safe, much like ATM cards. Do you know how many ATM cards get violated each year? Quite a lot, and the number is rising.

The new passports can be read by anyone with a RFID scanner, and not just at 10 cm, but from several meters away with the right equipment. Just walking down the street, or stopping at a traffic light on your way to the airport, you are at risk. Think about it for a moment. The film and music industries spend millions on protecting their CD's and DVD's and they get cracked in short order. Credit cards and ATM cards get cracked. Any electronic data that can be read, will be read eventually. Look at how many Social Security numbers were accidentally posted online by the US government. How often do government laptops full of huge databases of personal information go missing? We read about that in the news all too often. If you wish to believe that your shiny new passport is safeguarding your personal information, then you would be mistaken.

While it is illegal to tamper with the RFID chip, the best way to safeguard your personal data is by taking a hammer to it. One blow and you are safe. A microwave would work, except that it would leave tell tale burn marks. With a hammer, you can simply say that you accidentally dropped it and the person in line behind you accidentally stepped on it. Oops, sorry. Sending it through the laundry will not disable the chip. Even if the chip does not function they can still read your passport the old fashioned way, and you will still be able to cross borders.

I travel internationally quite often and I am not about to walk around with a passport that is readable from within my pocked, by any criminal with a RFID scanner. There are companies that plan on selling shielded wallets for your passport, but once you take it out for border control to read it, anyone can read it.

Hammer it lol... that would be to much trouble, how aboout building a faraday cage around it.

Sure, the proverbial Tin Foil wallet, or faraday cage sheilded wallet would work just so long as you never take it out. Physicaly breaking the chip is far safer.

speaking of sheilded wallet:

You could go in style, maybe with some EMF safety garments.
www.lessemf.com...

but tin foil is so much cheaper, hmmm.

[edit on 18-5-2007 by XPhiles]