RFID Chips - the Loss of Civil Liberties

In part two of this RFID series we'll cover the vulnerabilities of the RFID chip, how technical gurus are trying to warn government bodies and the public about security issues, and how you can protect yourself from possible identity theft.

With the onslaught of technology in the last 30 years, you'll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn't have at least a general idea of who a hacker is supposed to be, and what they could possibly do to you. Most people feel that, outside of banking and big-business sites, they're mostly protected on the Internet; they've learned to control their own personal information and downloading habits (or have a program to make these choices for them). With banks and top-tier companies hiring the best minds they can find to combat, and attempt to stay ahead of, the game, life as a hacker can't be getting easier. Or can it?

RFID: first generation biometrics
The introduction of the biometric passport, which contains a radio-frequency identification (RFID) chip, was hailed as the future of secure documentation. Upon introduction in the UK, however, the chip encryption was broken in under 48 hours, according to a Steve Boggan report for The Guardian. Other security breeches include research into copying the data from the chips while the passport was in the post. Both of these discoveries chilled the open support for these passports and added fuel to the fire for those who were opposed.

How can it be so easy? In the first generation of biometric passports, one fatal back door was left wide open: attempts to contact the chip do not have a limit on them so the incredible encryption on them is all but useless. With an infinite amount of attempts to crack the code, this seems akin to the Americans getting the Enigma machine during World War II. On the other hand, a spokesman for the Home Office told The Guardian, "What use would my biometric image be to you? And even if you had the information, you would still have to counterfeit the new passport - and it has lots of new security features. If you were a criminal, you might as well just steal a passport."