New High-Tech US E-Passport

The new U.S. e-passport has rolled out, complete with RFID tag for instant identification, but the New York Times is saying that although it's high-tech, it's pretty darn ugly. The front cover remains fairly modest, but when you flip open to any of the pages within, you'll see a lot of American iconography emblazoned throughout. Some say this is patriotic, others may disagree.


The embedded RFID chip -- located on one of the back pages -- holds "a digital image of the passport photograph, which will facilitate the use of face recognition technology at ports-of-entry." This chip also contains all of your biographical information, but it will only work with four-inches of a reader. This, along with the fact that the passport cover has shielding material, is to prevent unauthorized access of your personal information.

A full review of the new e-passport can be found over at The New York Times.




Written by Annie Groer
Published in Technology News