http://www.rfidkills.com

In a misguided attempt to make US passports more secure, the US
Department of State plans to put radio frequency identification (RFID)
chips in all new passports. This RFID chip will contain the same
information currently on our passports, including the passport
holder's name, date and place of birth, passport number and
photograph.

In a dangerous world where Americans are targeted by thieves,
kidnappers and terrorists, the RFID-chipped US passport will turn
tourists into targets, and American business travelers will transmit
their identities to kidnappers wherever they go, thanks to the US
State Department.

Close up, the information broadcast from the RFID chip can be read by
anyone with an inexpensive electronic reader. Farther away, the RFID
chip can be activated enough to identify the passport holder as an
American.

    >http://www.rfidkills.com
    >In a misguided attempt to make US passports more secure, the US
    >Department of State plans to put radio frequency identification (RFID)
    >chips in all new passports. This RFID chip will contain the same
    >information currently on our passports, including the passport
    >holder's name, date and place of birth, passport number and
    >photograph.
    >In a dangerous world where Americans are targeted by thieves,
    >kidnappers and terrorists, the RFID-chipped US passport will turn
    >tourists into targets, and American business travelers will transmit
    >their identities to kidnappers wherever they go, thanks to the US
    >State Department.
    >Close up, the information broadcast from the RFID chip can be read by
    >anyone with an inexpensive electronic reader. Farther away, the RFID
    >chip can be activated enough to identify the passport holder as an
    >American.

Ok, how far off is the American-seeking Rocket-Propelled Grenade, or
the machine gun that only fires at Americans?

Gordon L. Burditt

In article <[email protected]>,
Steve <[email protected]> wrote:

    > http://www.rfidkills.com
    >
    > In a misguided attempt to make US passports more secure, the US
    > Department of State plans to put radio frequency identification (RFID)
    > chips in all new passports. This RFID chip will contain the same
    > information currently on our passports, including the passport
    > holder's name, date and place of birth, passport number and
    > photograph.
    >
    > In a dangerous world where Americans are targeted by thieves,
    > kidnappers and terrorists, the RFID-chipped US passport will turn
    > tourists into targets, and American business travelers will transmit
    > their identities to kidnappers wherever they go, thanks to the US
    > State Department.
    >
    > Close up, the information broadcast from the RFID chip can be read by
    > anyone with an inexpensive electronic reader. Farther away, the RFID
    > chip can be activated enough to identify the passport holder as an
    > American.

Really? Close up, any passport can be read by anyone who has a gun.

On Mon, 28 Mar 2005 18:46:49 -0800, Steve <[email protected]> wrote:

    >http://www.rfidkills.com
    >In a misguided attempt to make US passports more secure, the US
    >Department of State plans to put radio frequency identification (RFID)
    >chips in all new passports. This RFID chip will contain the same
    >information currently on our passports, including the passport
    >holder's name, date and place of birth, passport number and
    >photograph.
    >In a dangerous world where Americans are targeted by thieves,
    >kidnappers and terrorists, the RFID-chipped US passport will turn
    >tourists into targets, and American business travelers will transmit
    >their identities to kidnappers wherever they go, thanks to the US
    >State Department.
    >Close up, the information broadcast from the RFID chip can be read by
    >anyone with an inexpensive electronic reader. Farther away, the RFID
    >chip can be activated enough to identify the passport holder as an
    >American.


Someone has a fundamental misunderstanding about how RFID actually
works. An inexpensive electronic reader will only be able to read the
unique ID code assigned to that specific RFID chip. Without access to
the massive database that contains the actual passport information,
the kidnappers will only see that there is a tag within reading
distance with a unique code of (for example)"Xqa39((l+$2@"

I guess thel''ll shortly make all the US visitors more secure by applying chip to their ear or ankle...
JaC


    > In a misguided attempt to make US passports more secure, the US Department of State plans to put radio frequency
identification (RFID) chips in all new passports.

Steve wrote:

    > In a dangerous world where Americans are targeted by thieves,
    > kidnappers and terrorists, the RFID-chipped US passport will turn
    > tourists into targets,

Oh dear, I think you have been watching far too much tabloid TV,
with purple prose like that.

    > Close up, the information broadcast from the RFID chip can be read by
    > anyone with an inexpensive electronic reader.

Actually, its rather easy to read from a distance, using a standard
reader and parabolic dish.

    > Farther away, the RFID
    > chip can be activated enough to identify the passport holder as an
    > American.

Come on! You seriously think we need RFIDs to identify Americans !?
Even if they keep quiet, the clothing, luggage and even haircuts
give it away.

Mike wrote:
    >
    > Steve wrote:
    >
    > > In a dangerous world where Americans are targeted by thieves,
    > > kidnappers and terrorists, the RFID-chipped US passport will turn
    > > tourists into targets,
    >
    > Oh dear, I think you have been watching far too much tabloid TV,
    > with purple prose like that.
    >
    > > Close up, the information broadcast from the RFID chip can be read by
    > > anyone with an inexpensive electronic reader.
    >
    > Actually, its rather easy to read from a distance, using a standard
    > reader and parabolic dish.
    >
    > > Farther away, the RFID
    > > chip can be activated enough to identify the passport holder as an
    > > American.
    >
    > Come on! You seriously think we need RFIDs to identify Americans !?
    > Even if they keep quiet, the clothing, luggage and even haircuts
    > give it away.

http://www.schneier.com/blog/archive...passports.html
Bruce Schnier is a well known expert in computer security
Extract :
But the Bush administration is advocating radio frequency identification
(RFID) chips for both U.S. and foreign passports, and that's a very bad
thing.

Gordon Burditt <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Ok, how far off is the American-seeking Rocket-Propelled Grenade, or
    > the machine gun that only fires at Americans?

Not very, if such weapons could be targeted at a person with an RFID
chip on their person that identified itself at belonging to an American.

I would imagine such a thing could be done now and wouldn't be terribly
difficult to accomplish considering that we already have weapon systems
that can target things broadcasting electronic signals.

Shawn Hearn <[email protected]> wrote:

    > Really? Close up, any passport can be read by anyone who has a gun.

The problem here is that the potential terrorist must make themselves
known first before it is to late and people die.

In the case of using an RFID chip, the terrorist can remain unknown
until it is to late.

"Eric" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:1gu6ohv.qmx5o93202t6N%[email protected]...
    > Gordon Burditt <[email protected]> wrote:
    >> Ok, how far off is the American-seeking Rocket-Propelled Grenade, or
    >> the machine gun that only fires at Americans?
    > Not very, if such weapons could be targeted at a person with an RFID
    > chip on their person that identified itself at belonging to an American.
    > I would imagine such a thing could be done now and wouldn't be terribly
    > difficult to accomplish considering that we already have weapon systems
    > that can target things broadcasting electronic signals.

I would hazzard a guess that if the RFID-Seeking Weapons are anything like
as accurate as the Smart Bombs used on Iraq then the safest place to be
would be near someone with an American Passport.

    >> Close up, the information broadcast from the RFID chip can be read by
    >> anyone with an inexpensive electronic reader. Farther away, the RFID
    >> chip can be activated enough to identify the passport holder as an
    >> American.
    >Really? Close up, any passport can be read by anyone who has a gun.

Only if the person with the gun can find the passport. A smart
American (or, for that matter, Israeli) on a plane being hijacked
by people who look like Arab terrorists might manage to hide their
passport so it won't be found quickly (e.g. in underwear or between
seat cushions), and hijackers may not bother to do thorough searches.
This is especially the case if the flight being hijacked is domestic
to whatever country it's in and there are a lot of people on it with
no passports at all.

Gordon L. Burditt

[email protected] (Gordon Burditt) wrote:
    >>Really? Close up, any passport can be read by anyone who has a gun.
    >Only if the person with the gun can find the passport. A smart
    >American (or, for that matter, Israeli) on a plane being hijacked
    >by people who look like Arab terrorists might manage to hide their
    >passport so it won't be found quickly (e.g. in underwear

Yup. That's why passports should come in a tight rolled coil instead
of that flat book. :)

    >> Close up, the information broadcast from the RFID chip can be read by
    >> anyone with an inexpensive electronic reader. Farther away, the RFID
    >> chip can be activated enough to identify the passport holder as an
    >> American.
    > Someone has a fundamental misunderstanding about how RFID actually
    > works. An inexpensive electronic reader will only be able to read the
    > unique ID code assigned to that specific RFID chip. Without access to
    > the massive database that contains the actual passport information,
    > the kidnappers will only see that there is a tag within reading
    > distance with a unique code of (for example)"Xqa39((l+$2@"

In the medium term the person wanting to identify Americans can
simply assume that Xqa39((l+$2@ is the Mark of the Beast, since
no other country will be using the technology.

I wonder if RFID product labels could already be used the same
way? The commercial codes are presumably not secret; owners of
distinctively American products should be easy enough to target.

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Bob Ward writes:

    > Someone has a fundamental misunderstanding about how RFID actually
    > works. An inexpensive electronic reader will only be able to read the
    > unique ID code assigned to that specific RFID chip. Without access to
    > the massive database that contains the actual passport information,
    > the kidnappers will only see that there is a tag within reading
    > distance with a unique code of (for example)"Xqa39((l+$2@"

It should also be possible to develop an inexpensive device that will
fry the RFID chip, making it necessary to verify the passport by hand.
Even some natural environments might do this. A microwave oven will do
this but it will overheat the RFID chip, possibly setting fire to its
container. An EMP will do it. Lightning nearby can do it.

One could also carry the passport in a sealed metal case, effectively
isolated it from any type of reader at any distance.

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.

Mike writes:

    > Come on! You seriously think we need RFIDs to identify Americans !?
    > Even if they keep quiet, the clothing, luggage and even haircuts
    > give it away.

Not when they are 60 feet away in a separate room.

--
Transpose hotmail and mxsmanic in my e-mail address to reach me directly.