On the eve of talks between the US and the ROK regarding the Visa Waiver Program, someone has uploaded a BBC World video clip in Youtube which shows how easy it is to forge electronic passports. And with Korean subtitles to boot.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbIomqcUGD0[/youtube]
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4 Comments
It shouldn’t be a surprise that it’s not that difficult to do. If it can be read, it can also be written on a blank chip. I think the technology has moved on, though. Don’t they use or talk about using facial recognition software at airports?
Oh, and the lesson to be learned is not that the passports aren’t as safe as you thought they were, but rather how the problem will be corrected. As the last person said, you wouldn’t want to create a huge all-encompassing infrastructure of electronic data that could become vulnerable to theft.
Since the US government is having so much trouble issuing the new passports and how easy it seems to be for the criminals, perhaps some sub-contracting to the underworld should be considered.
#3,
I would come with a warning label that would state that if you are caught making forged passports, “We’ll go medieval on you”.