About RFID technology..?

Question

the federal government has considered using RFID technology on passports..

What privacy issues might this raise??

please help..

thank you..

Answer 1

There are a great many issues and concerns as a result of this.  The government wants a national ID, driver's license and RFID enabled passports with all of your most sensitive and personal information.  The problem with RFID is it isn't secure and easily hacked (ask anyone who has experienced this with an RFID enabled credit card) by anyone with an RFID card reader and easily duplicated.  The other problem is Homeland Security would have all of this information housed on their computers which have been proven to be easily hacked by a teenager in Asia in a simulated attack.

The flaw is that a criminal hacker can potentially steal information from many people, hack Homeland Security's systems and allow someone else to completely take over your identity making you a non-person.  The other problem is that a national ID or driver's license infringes on the rights of the state to govern itself and is unconstitutional; this is also true of the fact that if you don't have one of these documents you will not be allowed in government facilities, parks, etc or allowed on an airplane.

Sadly our government isn't stopping there since now the FBI is trying to get Congress to allow them to form a biometrics database on all US citizens and recently they just passed the Telecom Immunity bill which allows the government unlimited wiretap and spying capabilities here in the US.  Also there was a recent article, though a little far fetched, where Homeland Security had written to a company about their interest in a bracelet which all travelers would be required to wear while in an airplane and allow security to taser the person knocking them unconscious.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/a...

http://www.wired.com/politics/security/n...

http://www.wired.com/politics/security/n...

http://www.wired.com/politics/security/n...

http://www.wired.com/politics/security/n...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/con...

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/02/04/fbi.b...