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Ultimately, Michael Holly, chief of consular affairs/international affairs at the U.S. Department of State, says Chris Paget’s interception of the passport card’s data is no reason for concern.

"Mr. Paget actually was doing nothing more than what we intended to have happen…the card, if powered by a reader, will give off the ID number, which is simply a pointer to the data that we share with the Department of Homeland Security"

he says.

BTC Comment - Is the State Department's job is to make egregious hacks look like it was all their idea and that they have everything under control?

I guess the more important question to ask is: are you in control of your identity and where your private information lands due to RFID deployment?

If you are confident RFID is insecure you reserve the right to demand more privacy provisions, especially if it's a legal mandate and you are required to pay for it.

c/o WiFi PlanetThe presence of an RFID tag in U.S. passport cards has raised privacy concerns, but government officials insist the technology is safe--and that the efficiency it adds at land borders is worth the risk.

By the time WHTI went into effect on June 1st of this year, requiring Americans to present passport books, passport cards, or EDLs when crossing land borders into the United States, over a million RFID-enhanced passport cards had already been issued. While WHTI itself isn’t new, its implementation for land borders was delayed two years ago in order to allow for further testing of passport card technology.

It’s important to note that there’s a key difference between e-passports(passport books) and passport cards. While passport cards use vicinity RFID (EPC Gen 2) technology, which can be read at distances of up to 30 feet, e-passports use ISO 14443 contactless smart card tech with a read range of a few inches. To compensate for their readibility (and therefore hackability) at a distance, passport cards only transmit an ID number that relates back to information stored in a secure central database, while e-passports store and transmit much more detailed information about the passport holder.

According to Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance, that difference was key to the selection of the two technologies. “The electronic passport was built knowing that it was going to store secure information like a person’s name, city of issuance, passport number, image of the person… and therefore they chose a more secure chip technology to protect that information—whereas the passport card was designed to be a static identifier to a central database, with no personal information stored in the chip itself,” he says.

Vanderhoof contends that the government’s decision to use the longer-range EPC Gen 2 technology in passport cards was a mistake. “The decision to trade speed over security and privacy, I think, was a poor decision on the part of the program managers under WHTI—but they repeatedly defended the decision because of the traffic flows through the land borders and the fact that they needed something that could be read from great distances,” he says.

Still, Paul Hunter, technical lead for the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, insists that the time savings provided by the passport cards are considerable. “We can actually read the documents as they’re approaching the booth…which means, instead of handing a document to an officer and him swiping it or manually typing in data, the data’s already there, and now he can focus on the person, and he can focus on the conveyance…it saves six to eight seconds per person,” he says.

And at a land border, Hunter says, time is of the essence. “We’re talking over 100 million crossings a year,” he says. “Those six to eight seconds actually are very significant. We’ve done time and motion studies where we’ve actually measured the time it takes to take the document, to bring it into the booth, to either manually type or swipe and then wait for the results—and if you eliminate all that, you are actually on average saving between six to eight seconds.”

What’s more, Hunter says, the same technology has already been in use for over ten years in the government’s SENTRI and NEXUS trusted traveler programs. “And we have not had one reported incident of somebody skimming that data and using it for nefarious purposes…the reality is, it’s just a number,” he says. “And we further mitigate that by making sure the data that’s associated with that is in a secure back-end database.”

Ultimately, Michael Holly, chief of consular affairs/international affairs at the U.S. Department of State, says Chris Paget’s interception of the passport card’s data is no reason for concern. “Mr. Paget actually was doing nothing more than what we intended to have happen…the card, if powered by a reader, will give off the ID number, which is simply a pointer to the data that we share with the Department of Homeland Security,” he says.

But Paget himself, now president and CTO of the security research firm H4RDW4RE, says that ID number shouldn’t be so easily accessible. “You shouldn’t necessarily think of it as low-risk just because it’s a number,” he says. “Your social security number is just a number. Your credit card number is just a number. It’s the meaning that’s attached to those numbers that makes it risky—and in this instance, it’s an identifier for a person, so any time you see that identifier, you can be certain that you’re seeing that same person.”

One possible solution, Paget says, would be to add an on/off switch to the passport card, as has been suggested by Dr. Ann Cavoukian,Information and Privacy Commissioner for the Canadian province of Ontario. Paget says it’s simply a matter of adding “a button on the card that you have to physically squeeze to turn the tag on, at which point it can be read—so it completely negates the need for shielding…because the tag is off until you actually want it to be turned on.”

The larger point, Paget says, is that RFID needs to be approached with the same caution as the Internet—both, essentially, are simply untrusted networks that move bits of data from point a to point b. “There’s no reason why RFID cannot have equivalent security to something like SSH or SSL that we use on the Internet all the time…I’m certainly not against RFID as a technology: I think it’s got great potential, but there needs to be a lot more security involved in the design of the systems,” he says.

GOD'S WORD FOR TODAY
Psalms chapter 15
[A Psalm of David.] LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?
He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.
He that backbiteth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his neighbour, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbour.
In whose eyes a vile person is contemned; but he honoureth them that fear the LORD. He that sweareth to his own hurt, and changeth not.
He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh reward against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. (KJV)

IN THE NEWS
REAL ID & PRIVACY NEWS

“Your Papers, Please!” 8/19/09
http://www.thenewamerican.com/index.php/usnews/politics/1668-your-papers-please

Department of Motor Vehicles employee arrested 8/19/09
http://www.lodinews.com/articles/2009/08/19/news/5_dmv_090819.txt

OBAMA NATION

'We Need To Beat Taliban To Stop New 9/11' 8/18/09
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Barack-Obama-On-Afghanistan-President-Tells-Veterans-In-Pheonix-Arizona-War-Is-Necessity/Article/200908315363448?f=rss

Voters' awareness up, Obama's popularity down 8/19/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=648722

ECONOMIC NEWS

FDIC Sees Ag Banks As The Next Big Crisis 8/18/09
http://cornandsoybeandigest.com/davidkohl/0818-FDIC-ag-bank-crisis/

Best & Worst US Cities For Job Seekers
http://www.indeed.com/jobtrends/unemployment

Stimulus Not Working as Advertised 8/18/09
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/us_economy_republicans/2009/08/18/249078.html

Consumers not feeling a recovery 8/13/09
http://money.cnn.com/2009/08/13/news/economy/retail_sales_July/index.htm?postversion=2009081311

OBAMA CARE

AARP losing tens of thousands of members over support for health care overhaul 8/17/09
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/sns-ap-us-health-overhaul-aarp%2C0%2C5794086.story

Senior citizens have a choice - AARP or ASA? 8/19/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=648398

Obama goes talk show route to sell health care 8/19/09
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/08/68497302/1

Waxman is leading charge to force private insurers to give up compensation info 8/19/09
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0809/26251.html

Advice: Start from scratch on healthcare reform 8/19/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=648902

Healthcare 'co-ops' a step toward gov't control 8/19/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=648884

'WWJD' - about healthcare reform? 8/18/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=647036

Parental Authority Would Be Usurped would occur under Obamacare 8/18/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=647224

Whose medical decisions? 8/18/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Perspectives/Default.aspx?id=648344

New NRLC Resources on Abortion in Health Care Bills 8/17/09
http://www.christiannewswire.com/index.php?module=releases&task=view&releaseID=11247

POLICE STATE

False DNA evidence can be created (How long & How many Times have they done this?) 8/19/09
http://www.zeenews.com/news556512.html

Enhanced Check Stop nabs area drivers 8/19/09
Police State Canada Style
http://www.wetaskiwintimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1705207

Jersey City May Impose Nation's First Curfew for Adults 8/18/09
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/dpp/news/national/Jersey_City_May_Impose_Nations_First_Curfew_for_Adults_11072798

A persistent blogger annoys police -- and winds up in jail. 8/10/09
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/09/AR2009080902126.html

CONTROL THE FOOD SUPPLY AND...

Monsanto to Charge as Much as 42% More for New Seeds 8/13/09
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aLW8VZBkP3PA

EUTHANASIA - ITS AMERICAS NEW HAPPY PILL (Propaganda Machine at Work)

Study finds end-of-life counseling improves mood 8/18/09
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090818/ap_on_he_me/us_med_end_of_life

TOWN HALL MEETINGS

Rep. Frank lashes out at protester for Nazi remark 8/19/09
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090819/ap_on_re_us/us_health_care_frank

GOVERNMENT & POLITICS

Scalia says there’s nothing unconstitutional about executing the innocent 8/17/09
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/08/17/scalia-actual-innocence/

Seattle voters reject 20-cent grocery bag fee 8/19/09
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090819/ap_on_re_us/us_seattle_election

I am finally scared of a White House administration 8/19/09
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/hentoff081909.php3

National motto voted down in Florida 8/18/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=646996

Lawyer: FBI Trained Hal Turner As An "Agent Provocateur" 8/18/09
http://www.courant.com/news/politics/hc-web-hal-turner-0819aug19%2C0%2C1700724.story

Get Rid of the Politicians 8/18/09
http://moneynews.newsmax.com/streettalk/schiff_politicians/2009/08/18/249285.html

Gallup: Conservatives Outnumber Liberals in 50 States 8/17/09
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/gallup_conservative_poll/2009/08/17/248984.html

GOVERNMENT WASTE

Some NY lawmakers collect pension pay and salaries 8/19/09
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090819/ap_on_re_us/us_lawmaker_pensions

ABORTION IN THE NEWS

OK judge halts abortion law requiring ultrasound 8/18/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=648950

WAR ON DRUGS?

Traces of cocaine found on up to 90% of dollar bills in American cities 8/17/09
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/17/cocaine-dollar-bills-currency-us

Chemist finds cocaine on Detroit's paper money 8/19/09
http://www.freep.com/article/20090819/NEWS01/908190324/1322/Chemist-finds-cocaine-on-Detroit-s-paper-money

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Canada protects deadly bio-lab 8/18/09
http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1902934

GLOBAL WARMING

Children are a blessing, not a carbon curse 8/18/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=644700

HOMESCHOOL NEWS

Sweden outlaws home schooling 8/19/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Education/Default.aspx?id=648486

IMMIGRATION & BORDER NEWS

Illegal aliens trump veterans at U.S. medical offices 8/19/09
http://www.onenewsnow.com/Politics/Default.aspx?id=647174

Fresh fight looms over immigration 8/18/09
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/18/fresh-fight-over-immigration/?page=2

Obama Ends Illegal Immigration Arrest Quotas 8/17/09
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/us_socal_immigration_enforcement/2009/08/17/248921.html

Deputies failed to report illegal immigrant's status, lawsuit says 8/13/09
http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2009/08/deputies_failed_to_report_ille.html

US Mexico Business Council
http://www.usmexico.org/

COMMENTARY

Falling in Love 8/19/09
http://www.rense.com/general87/falling.htm