Dodge DeBoulet

I wasn't the OP. And I'll try to keep your specific preferences in mind in the future

Dodge DeBoulet

Uh, right.

I had no expectations of said alternative being implemented. I had an opinion that there was a better, more secure way to obtain reasonable results, and thought that it would be worth posting.

Sheesh.

Doppy

The original story says that the data will not be encrypted, thus anyone with the proper equipment will have access to your name, photograph and address - for starters.

Even if it were encrypted, the code could probably be broken pretty easily, especially since the decryption code would need to be deployed pretty widely.

Dodge DeBoulet

The passport need only transmit, when properly interrogated, a uniquely identifying value (i.e. a serial number, suitably encrypted) that would function as a key to the central database. The official checking passports would compare the database information with your physical characteristics and/or the data printed on the passport. No "in the clear" identifying information is required.

Damn. Still off-topic. Sorry GradGirl . . .

Dodge DeBoulet

I know, I know. I was discussing an alternative . . . I guess reading the entire thread is too much to ask. I'm out.

Doppy

There is no alternative plan with encryption. And even if there were, as I mentioned above, it would likely be easy for people to crack.

Doppy

Here's an example of an anti-static bag that would probably help block RF signals:

http://www.esdsystems.com/default.as...enuBar=catalog

I'm going to bring an anti-static bag to work tomorrow to see if it actually works.

fastflyer

How would the RFID tag broadcast your address? Addresses are not in US passports. There is a place to hand-write your address, if you wish, but the home address is not anywhere in the document. (Thankfully). You may nowadays have to provide a SSN and an address when applying: just use a EIN and a work address.

I am glad that I long ago made myself anonymous. I ran into an old landlady a few months back; she told me I still get oodles of junk mail at my 1995 address. I get none at my real home address. Nothing like disappearing from databases.

Yaatri

If a human being has to verify the information by reading it off the passport, where is the time saving?

SPN Lifer

Thank you, Doppy. I will be bookmarking this thread for when I need to get a new passport in a few years, if RFID is implemented by then.

GUWonder

You're right. Sheesh. There are better alternatives and/or certain people in certain positions of responsibility need to be upfront and tell us exactly what problem they are addressing with the implementation of RFID.

GradGirl

Your best move would be to replace your passport early. If you replace your passport before the end of this calendar year, you definitely will not get an RFID passport, and since passports are valid for ten years, you can retain your non-broadcasting passport well into the future. My current passport is valid for nine more years, so I'm not acting on this suggestion, but I think it's a good one.

Doppy

The story says it does. Maybe by "address" it means your place of birth.

Doppy

OK, well I've just performed a test of RFID foiling and here are the results:

The ID card system my company uses is old and slow. It has a range of about 18-24", but you have to hold the card steady in that range for a decent amount of time. There are systems that are much faster and have a better range.

I first placed my ID card into a standard anti-static bag. It seemed to have almost no effect - my card was being ID'ed normally.

Then I wrapped my ID card up in aluminum foil so that the entire thing was covered by about 3-4 layers of foil. That significantly decreased the effective range - bringing it down to about 1 inch. Placing the card in foil inside of the anti-static bag made it so that the card would have to be pressed all the way up against the reader for it to work.

So, my conclusion is that for maximum protection with the system I tested, you'd need at least 5 layers of aluminum foil. But, as I said above, the system is not nearly as high quality/advanced as the new systems on the market.

The anti-static bag did nothing. I posted a link above to some anti-static bags that may have stronger Faraday cage properties, but I can't say for sure. Certainly a bag like the ones I linked to would be a lot more manageable than a few square feet of aluminum wrapping, so it would probably be worth testing some better bags.

FliesWay2Much

I know that the RFID's that are in the Smartag/EZ-Pass toll transponders have a range in the 10's of feet -- probably around 100-200'. They tell you to wrap it in aluminum foil if you don't want it to be picked up by the receiver at the toll booth. I'd guess that the closest a transponder gets to a tollbooth receiver is probably about 6-10'.

I'd guess this is probably worst-case, since the toll transponders are large and have good-sized batteries and antennae.

For racing chips attached to running shoes, you literally have to be on top of the receiver strip on the road to make the machine beep. The strip is usually covered by 3/4" dense rubber padding and the chip on your shoe is several inches above the pad's surface.

...just two empirical examples!

I'd suggest a layer of two over a passport would do the job.