USATODAY.com - Electronic passports set to thwart forgers
The U.S. passport is joining the digital age. After three years of research and discussion, the State Department has finalized most of the technical and logistical details of new, supposedly tamper-proof passports embedded with a "smart-card" chip.
The fact that the article goes on to cite the assurances of the plan's originator and customer (the Department of State), the RFID chip's manufacturers, and some flack representing travel agents and corporate travel purchasers doesn't persuade me of the invulnerability of these things.
Unless I'm mistaken, many of the September 11, 2001 hijackers entered the US legally, with legitimate passports. The bombers in London weren't even foreign nationals. What security problem is solved by an RFID tag in your passport?
