December 11, 2006

Questions Remain About E-Passport Security

The next generation of international travel security is already here, but whether the new passports will fly with travelers is still up in the air. The passports that the U.S. State Department started issuing in August contain embedded computer chips that transmit data about their holders to remote electronic "readers." That technology is part of a broader area of the security business known as "track and trace." Despite the growing popularity of the systems, they're not without controversy. When attached to important documents like passports, the wireless computer chips that contain personal data have sparked worries about identity theft, despite layers of technology designed to thwart thieves.

Passport to safety or peril?, Pioneer Press, December 10, 2006.