If you don’t have a passport now and are planning on travelling overseas, get one — now:
From the Washington Post:
All new U.S. passports issued by the end of 2005 are expected to have a chip containing the owner’s name, birth date, issuing office and a “biometric” identifier – a photo of the owner’s face.
But wait… there’s more! This “RFID” chip will contain a passive radio antenna, connected to the chip, that just sits there until someone with a radio device sends out a signal that activates the chip. The chip then sends all that personal information out to the remote radio device, sharing it with whoever has the device. The chip can be accessed while your passport is in your briefcase, your luggage, or your pocket. It can be accessed at a checkpoint, in your car, on the street, in your apartment, from outside your apartment while you sleep … anywhere.
But wait! There’s even more. According to that Washington Post article, the Bush Administration has fought to keep the information on the chip from being encrypted. This means not only that agents of the US government can read your personal information whenever you want. It means that anyone who obtains or builds their own RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) reader device can get your personal information, whenever and wherever they or the reader device can get close to you.
Remember, you’re required to keep your passport on your body at all times when you’re out of the country. Apart from privacy concerns, what does a scam artist, a kidnapper, a spy or a terrorist need to do to identify all the Americans in the room? Why, just pull out a handy-dandy RFID reader!
And, yes, there’s more. Virginia wants to put these chips in your drivers’ licenses.
Learn more about RFID chips, RFID readers, and what this means for the future of individual privacy and autonomy at the ACLU’s clearinghouse website on the issue.
