State Dep't. OK's RFID Passports
Passport-embedded RFID tags are back with a vengeance, as the State Department has given the go-ahead for December testing of a new system with enhanced security features, following intense public pressure that forced them to scuttle their original design this past June. The new arrangement contains two key security upgrades: embedded anti-skimming material to prevent non-authorized personnel from stealing personal data and Basic Access Control, which requires user-certification before the RFID chip will broadcast its signal. State Department officials promise that the tech jibes with guidelines set by the U.N.-affiliated International Civilian Aviation Organization, the body tasked with setting international machine-readable passport standards. Assuming the tests go as planned, and the ACLU remains placated, expect Uncle Sam to start issuing these high tech ID's early next year.
[Via Smart Mobs and Techdirt, photo courtesy of The Globalist]
