The US government's controversial plan to include radio chips in its passports and in those of countries whose citizens can visit the US without a visa is to be pushed back a year because of a growing string of security concerns, the technology Web site Wired News reported on Thursday.
The chips will include the information from the photo page of the passport, including the holder's name, date of birth and a digitized form of the passport picture. The chips include enough space so fingerprints or iris prints can be added later.
The radio chips are designed to allow officials to scan them using a radio frequency reader. But business travel groups, security experts and privacy advocates oppose the remotely readable chips because they could allow unauthorized people to scan the information, revealing the nationality and other personal details of the passport holder.
Added features
The US State Department insisted that the chips will cut down on passport forgery, improve security and speed up border crossings. It said that it is adding features that would prevent the chips from being "skimmed" by unauthorized readers.
Among the security measures are special metal coatings that would prevent the chip from being read when the passport is closed. But security experts said they believe strong scanners might be able to circumvent those safeguards.
"This is a case where a security measure is putting the people carrying it at risk," security expert Jon Callas told Wired.
Effort
"When I travel abroad, I spend a certain amount of effort trying to look inconspicuous, but nonetheless, I carry my passport. There are cheaper, safer alternatives," he said.
The State Department originally set an October deadline for the 27 countries whose citizens do not need visas to visit America to begin issuing these same types of passports.
So far, only Belgium has started production of the new passports, and according to Wired, the deadline will likely be pushed back until October 2006.
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