Monday, July 21, 2008

U.S. Travelers Start Applying For Pocket-Sized Passport


An Arizona Republic article by Sean Holstege, via USA Today, reports that:

People who chafe at the cost of a passport or worry about carrying one to the beach soon will have a cheaper, easier option.

The government is on the cusp of releasing passport cards that fit in a wallet and cost half the price of a new passport. About 350,000 Americans have applied for the new card, the latest step toward ratcheting up border security.

One concern for privacy advocates is that each passport card will contain an embedded radio transmitter chip. Known as RFID, the technology is controversial because critics fear that data from the chips could unknowingly be lifted by remote readers, in what's called "skimming."

More here.

Image source: U.S. State Department via Gannett News Service (USA Today)

1 Comments:

At Fri May 06, 07:29:00 AM PDT, Anonymous Jose @ Chromatic Tuner said...

I wonder how secure our passport card is..

 

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