http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1782698,00.aspWhat do you suppose our enemies would pay for a device capable of identifying all the Americans walking down the street in a foreign city? And why might the U.S. Department of State be making such a weapon possible?
We're talking about a plan to embed RFID (radio-frequency identification) chips into U.S. passports, which the State Department claims will help swoosh U.S. citizens through border crossings. The Washington Post says the RFID chip will include all the printed information from the passport along with an enhanced photograph of the passport holder, useful for photo recognition.
The State Department claims the RFID data will be readable only out to a distance of about four inches. It plans to begin issuing new passports using the technology to diplomats starting in August. (You have to give these people credit for eating their own dog food.)
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Here's the problem: To find the Americans in a crowd, a terrorist wouldn't need to "read" the information contained in the passport. If only Americans are carrying RFID passports, then all a terrorist need do is determine whether the device exists. A simple "wanding" by an RFID receiver would be enough to find the U.S. passport holders at close range.