RSSReport: Unhackable e-passports hacked within minutes
By Ed Oswald | Published August 7, 2008, 12:56 PM
Tests by The Times of London indicate that new passports aimed at curbing forgeries and claimed to be unhackable can be cloned and pass as legitimate documents.
Officials who had been pushing for adoption of the new microchip-equipped passports lauded them as a way to cut down on terrorism. Under the old paper-only system, the documents could easily be forged.
With the new system, a microchip would be embedded into the passport, which in turn would be scanned by customs agents at airports. Forged documents would be identified much easier.
That argument appears set to come crashing down. The Times has found security holes within the chips that allowed them to be altered. When passed through the UN-approved reader software, they came up as legitimate.
Security research Jeroen van Beek was able to create two faked e-passports good enough to pass through the UN system in an hour. He used publicly available code, a £40 ($78 USD) card reader and two £10 ($19.50 USD) RFID chips.
Supporters of the e-passport technology counter that even altered chips would be detected due to the use of key-codes. But that may not necessarily be the case: Of the 45 countries now using the technologies, only 10 have signed up for the system, and five have it implemented.
With such low adoption, there would be many points of entry from which terrorists could circumvent the key-code system.
The discovery also leads to identity theft concerns. Travelers will frequently surrender their passports for car rentals and hotels. If a criminal is working at either location, while the passport is in their possession, sensitive data could be read from it, and used to clone another passport.
What Really scares me are the so called unhackable Electronic VOTING MACHINES that are going to be used in the upcoming elections !!!
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|If that's all that really scares you, you've lead a charmed life, my friend. ;)
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|Anyone wanting to implement anything "unhackable" will be hacked in no time. It's no surprise that any government issued technology solution is weak at best. How much will we waste on such nonsense?
Canada's Next: http://canadianpress.goo...k6G6Nu_rKonXCcX2eASIrNQ
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|That, and the chips are only guaranteed to work for one year when the passport lasts 10.
So even if you blank/break the chip they'll let you through via the paper method.
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|One wonders when these idiots will realize that the *only* "unhackable" ID is biological, not technological?
Tech can be copied, and duplicated *exactly*.
A near impossibility biologically.
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|I agree 100%.
Bio-recog is the only real solution.
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|The problem with that is when you use a passport, you're deciding to be identified; once a government entity has your biological data on file, you don't have a choice anymore.
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|If you are using a pssport, you are going places where failure to identify is *not* an option.
Making passports biologically identifiable doesn't change that one whit.
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|Correct.
Slight tangent:
Having biological data held on record by the government is asking for even more trouble.
It'll be instantly hacked (or the data will be lost) as with all other government held data.
That is why I'm against biological passports.
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|DNAand retna maybe, but fingerprints can be lifted
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|...
and what, exactly, do you expect them to do with your DNA codes?
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|Maybe...change your "DNA codes" with their name, and give you some other bogus "DNA code" making them you...and you someone else?
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|Criminal masterminds are alwasy surprising us with what they can accomplish, so why are you so sure that DNA codes can't be used in some clever and dangerous way?
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|We could make a clone with your DNA, and call him PC_Troll, what a hoot!!!
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|Someone's seen a few too many episodes of 'The X-Files".
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|Well, it sure would be interesting to watch.
It's the "Criminal Masterminds" (watching too much Batman lately?) who constantly test and allow us to improve upon our security after all...
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|They could. But why would they need to bother when we have you, Zaine?
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|Ah!, a Troll a Troll is always a Troll, tis' he not, or perhaps not?
A poser, for one enamored so of "Schadenfreude", do you eat your young?
Your usual witless comments will be most appreciated, perhaps we shall gorge together "Superman"?
That's "Nitzcke" ya dummy, get out a ya kennel!
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|Somebody with the technology to USE your DNA codes would, invariably, also have the ability to COLLECT your DNA.
If someone wants my DNA to play with, they are welcome to it. Although I doubt that I am that important to the rest of the world.
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|Yeah, I see some excellent opportunities to sell tinfoil hats in this thread.
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