BUSINESS
Opinion: e-Passport technology
12-05-2010
by ElectricNews.net
The e-Passport revolution: the next generation of travel security.
With the expansion of HID Global’s e-Passport manufacturing base in Connemara, Adam Tangun, Director at HID Global, offers an insight into the technology being produced in the area.
Travel security has progressed considerably since the days of manual passport checks that were limited to a cursory glance at a photo, signature and scant personal details. There was a vast disparity between passport standards from country to country, with no common, international standard or interoperability between passport-checking systems. Following work by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to establish a common global standard for the reading of travel documents and the use of passport data, what are the implications and potential risks of the underlying technology?
1. The basic concept behind an enhanced e-passport is that the holder’s personal data and biometrics – including photograph, fingerprint and or iris – are securely stored in the passport chip, which is accessed through secure contactless technology. Basic Access Control (BAC) safeguards against the inadvertent capture of data stored on the chip, while protecting the privacy of the holder’s identity. BAC also secures communication when the travel document is read by a passport-reading device at a passport control point.
2. The passport holder is identified and fraud attempts can be discovered by comparing the chip data against the visual data in the passport. The accuracy of the stored biometric data is key, along with its security and the ease with which it can be verified and transferred using secure certificates.
3. While e-passports are breaking down traditional barriers to secure international travel, they also come with their own set of challenges. Perhaps the biggest technical hurdle when implementing an e-passport-based border control system is the infrastructure that supports it. At the present time, not all countries have installed the facilities and infrastructure needed to conduct electronic verification. The ability of all participants to use the technology that underpins the overall system will be critical for its success.
4. The speed, accuracy and security of the e-passport readers themselves are also a critical factor for success. Developers of this technology are working closely with governments around the world to ensure that the security printers of each country can confidently produce secure credentials with embedded secure contactless technology and visual security elements designed to deter counterfeiting. Manufacturers currently offer the document readers that comply with the standards and help agents retrieve the information stored in e-documents for on-the-spot identity verification.
Despite the challenges of mass e-passport adoption around the world, millions of electronic passports are already in circulation, and all major airports have initiatives to establish an e-border control infrastructure throughout 2010. In the words of the ICAO: “This represents a first step in bringing global state travel document systems and technologies more in line with 21st century border control, facilitation and security objectives.” As early adopters of e-passports seek to upgrade their passports, this trend will inevitably spur improvements in functionality and encourage the integration of ever more sophisticated security features.
The convenience of easier traveller processing at border crossing points is an obvious attraction of the RFID-enabled e-passport technology. Perhaps its greatest benefit however, is the role it will play in the next decade to safeguard against terrorism, illegal immigration and identity theft - the most pressing national security threats of our time.
HID Global provides secure identity solutions for millions of customers around the world. HID Global supplies OEMs, system integrators, and application developers serving a variety of markets, including physical and logical access control, card personalisation, eGovernment, cashless payment and industry and logistics www.hidglobal.com.
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