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 [CMoore.com] All US passports to use RFID within a year: As previously reported, the State Department has been struggling with concerns over privacy and security in developing new passports. The struggle has ended, and by “October 2006, all U.S. passports, with the exception of a small number of emergency passports issued by U.S. embassies or consulates, will be electronic passports.”

 [Neowin.net - Where unprofessional journalism looks better] RFID Chips in New US Passports Starting Next Year: Sweeping new State Department regulations issued Tuesday say that passports issued after that time will have tiny radio frequency ID (RFID) chips that can transmit personal information including the name, nationality, sex, date of birth, place of birth and digitized photograph of the passport holder. Eventually, the government contemplates adding additional digitized data such as "fingerprints or iris scans."

[Rfid.weblogsinc.com] The RFID Weblog - rfid.weblogsinc.com: And a new study from the University of Arkansas indicates that their customers are more likely to find the items they want in stores using RFID tags than in locations that do not. Key findings include out-of-stock items with RFID were replenished three times faster than items using standard bar-code technology, meaning fewer total out-of-stock items and fewer occurrences of empty shelves when the merchandise was in the backroom.

 [Rfidbuzz.com] RFIDbuzz.com: Sweeping new State Department regulations issued Tuesday say that passports issued after that time will have tiny radio frequency ID (RFID) chips that can transmit personal information including the name, nationality, sex, date of birth, place of birth and digitized photograph of the passport holder. Eventually, the government contemplates adding additional digitized data such as "fingerprints or iris scans."

[Schneier.com] Schneier on Security: RFID Passport Security Revisited: I guess the upside of such technology is that it should be relatively easy to detect people operating systems that have the ability to change data on rfid tags (they are a source of rf after all), or even jam potential signals in all areas except where permitted rfid interfacing is allowed (I'm no expert on this but I imagine it probably comes down to s/n ratio and proximity, as long as the freq used isnt critical to air traffic). Obviously this would only be practical in places like airports etc where large concentrations of people with these devices can be found, but thats probably where they'd be targeted mostly.

 [Infoworld.com] US to require RFID chips in passports | InfoWorld | News | 2005-10 ...: Although the State Department changed its earlier proposal of a self-powered RFID chip to a passive one that relies on a reader machine's power, privacy concerns remain, said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU's Technology and Liberty Program. Steinhardt called the State Department's security measures a "step forward," but he said bar codes could be used to match electronic data with paper data on passports.

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