RFID-ed off

In this post I mentioned the plans in the UK, leaked a couple of weeks ago, to establish a mass, secret database of children's fingerprints as part of the scheme for new biometric passports and ID cards. Somewhat belatedly, I offer this follow-up, to which I was alerted by Jonathan at Past Peak.

The day after the plans for the database were leaked, the Daily Mail (UK) arranged with a willing participant to check out one of the new passports, called the "safest ever" by the Blair government. Using "a simple gadget built from parts bought on the Internet,"

[i]n just four hours, the Mail hacked into a new biometric passport and stole the details a people trafficker or illegal migrant would need to set up a life in Britain.

And they did it without even opening the envelope in which it was delivered, meaning if such a document is diverted, scanned, and then delivered, the recipient is none the wiser because the envelope has not been tampered with.

By the end of the afternoon, we had stolen enough information from the passport’s electronic chip - including the woman’s photograph - to be able to clone an identical document if we had wished.

More significantly, we had the details which would allow a fraudster, people trafficker or illegal immigrant to set up a new life in Britain.

The criminal could open a bank account, claim state benefits and undertake a myriad financial and legal transactions in someone else’s name.

The wonders of technology. And the stupidity of over-reliance on it and in particular the stupidity of relying on technology in the hands of corporations and the government to protect our privacy.