I've got an RFID passport from the UK. I thought I had managed to get the application in before the RFID passports were issued but unfortunately not. Not only does it have the symbol on the front but it is much stiffer than my previous passports. I presume that is to protect the RFID antenna but it makes it less comfortable to stuff the passport in my pocket.

Another reason to avoid them if possible ;) :D

Make sure not to put it in the microwave, or the sensor goes poof. The passport, will then, of course, become invalid (I would assume so anyway, with a hole in it or worse).

All U.S. Passport agencies, embassies, and consulates print Department of State as issuing authority. This was changed almost a year ago.

Has this been the case for type P, O and D ones issued since sometime in 2005? Is type E still noted?

About the RFID tags in passports, this is interesting reading (to see what the government ignored):

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/p...rfid_draft.pdf

Just for background, here's something about RFID-enabled credit cards:

http://prisms.cs.umass.edu/~kevinfu/...manuscript.pdf

Sounds pretty insecure. Any idea how to tell if a particular credit card is RFID?

Chase is offering cards with RFID in them under the brand name Blink. An article on that is here. Such cards have a Blink logo identifying them as being RFID-enabled.

From that same link "Rau claims that results from the blink pilot and other research shows that consumers consider contactless technology to be "simple, fast and convenient," and that "consumers enjoyed the added security from retaining possession of their cards while paying." "

LOL ... say that another way "your CC can potentially be elecronically accessed while its in your possession inside your pocket" and it doesn't sound like "added security" to me. However, since the blink cards are shipping since summer 2005, I guess we would have heard something if there were large scale security issues. Maybe Im being an old fogey, but I still wouldnt use one.

I thought I read that a mal-functioning RFID passport would still be valid.

I guess if you nuke it and end up with a burned spot that may be another story.

I also read that some people are hitting the chip with a hammer.

The UK Chip and PIN project also gives this benefit, but they are (deliberately) old-style contact smartcards, so they cannot be read without you physically putting the card in a reader.

It does have one risk in that there was a case of fraud where said reader had a magstripe skimmer fitted, but generally it works. I must admit to being surprised that the passports were of the contactless type.

Neil

This thread is not really related to travel safety or security so I'm transferring it to TravelBuzz where it'll gain a wider audience.
Please follow it there.
Thanks.


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Cholula
Travel Safety/Security Forum Moderator

maybe i am naive, but i just don't see the big deal of having an RFID passport. especially if it makes the immigration queue go faster! i will just purchase an external RFID shield and not give it a second thought. whats the risk?

There's rather routinely a bit of a lag in terms of those using criminal methods getting ahead of the game. Also, there's not yet a critical mass of "Blink" cards to make it worth their efforts. Once there is that critical mass, it'll take a couple of years before the stories make the rounds. Identity theft using Social Security Numbers has been happening for decades, but news of that didn't make the popular rounds until much later.

"Contactless processing" => "contactless theft", in the absence of proper encryption processes being used at the proper points, in the absence of closed loop only accessiblity for those tightly monitored, in the absence of adjustments in payment processing. There are ways for it to be pretty secure, but I'm not so sure that's being done here. With passports, it'll be worse faster, for criminal gangs are already on the move in that area.

RFID is extremely insecure and is subject to copying. It's relatively easy to make a high-powered antenna that will read RFID tags from quite a distance. It has been shown that most protections on the passport can be broken and the passport can be cloned. Do you want someone to come into the country with your credentials?

The German ones have already been cloned. And here's something on the UK ones:

http://computerworld.co.nz/news.nsf/...257230000696BD