US State Department’s RFID Passport idea has created furious debate in the streets of America. The security experts are agog with the policy makers regarding the introduction of RFID passports.
Initially, the State Department was reluctant to admit the complains on RFID passports. In course of time, the government agency has been forced to look into the matter seriously.
Coming under sharp criticisms from the security experts, the State Department has brought certain changes in the passports. A shield cover has been attached to the passport to prevent the chips to be read. There are also access-control and encryption mechanisms to avoid unauthorized access to the passport data.
Bruce Schneier in his article in the Washingtonpost says,
The security mechanisms on your passport chip have to last the lifetime of your passport. It is as ridiculous to think that passport security will remain secure for that long as it would be to think that you won’t see another security update for Microsoft Windows in that time. Improvements in antenna technology will certainly increase the distance at which they can be read and might even allow unauthorized readers to penetrate the shielding.
Here I ask you a question: Should the RFID-enabled Passports be introduced in the USA?
