The Washington Note Archives

The Washington Note Archives

"NOTE TO JOHN ASHCROFT: THE MATRIX WAS FICTION!

MAYBE IT'S TIME TO GO BACK TO CASH AND JOIN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS who refuse to hold a passport.

Bruce Schneier reports on these new RFID passports (that's radio frequency identification chips in your passport) that continually broadcast your personal information to whatever reader picks up the signal.

Schneier writes:

RFID chips are like smart cards, but they can be read from a distance. A receiving device can 'talk' to the chip remotely, without any need for physical contact, and get whatever information is on it. Passport officials envision being able to download the information on the chip simply by bringing it within a few centimeters of a reader.

Unfortunately, RFID chips can be read by any reader, not just the ones at passport control. The upshot of this is that anyone carrying around an RFID passport is broadcasting his identity."