The Department of State said the new passports will take security and travel facilitation to a new level.
Production has started at the Colorado passport agency and will be expanded to other production facilities over the next few months, as part of a plan to make all new passports electronic by October. News reports have claimed that it could take up to 10 years for all US passport-holders to get an e-passport.
The passports have a contactless chip in the rear cover, which contains the same data as that found on its biographic data page. They will also include a digital image of the bearer’s photograph.
Metallic anti-skimming material is incorporated into the front cover and spine, which prevents the chip from being skimmed or read, providing the passport is fully closed. Basic access control (BAC) technology is also used to prevent eavesdropping.
To prevent alteration or modification of the data on the chip, and to allow authorities to validate and authenticate the data, the information on the chip will include an electronic signature (PKI).
RFID-equipped passports have been criticized by security and privacy experts. CNET reports that by the time the state department announced in October 2005 the new regulations governing the passports, 98.5% of the 2,335 comments were negative.
