Electronic passports aren’t exactly new news, but the topic is long from being over with. In fact
travelers like you and I may very well have the new passports as early as February
2006. (That is if you don’t already have a current passport. They will remain valid until their expiration.) The State
Department has been researching and working hard at the new “smart-cards” for three years now, but many are
still concerned about the lack of privacy. According to
this USA Today piece a few days
back, wireless transmission of data compromises security.
Folks at the Electronic Privacy Information Center in Washington D.C. fear the wireless transmission will lead
to “skimming” or ”eavesdropping.” To keep it short and sweet, this so called “skimming” business involves
somebody you don’t want gathering information like your nationality from your enhanced passport and doing God knows
what with the information. Supposedly the intruder can be several feet away, but concerns like such are said to be
outdated as the State Department did some serious brainstorming to protect the privacy of us all. Sure.
Personally, I don’t feel I have any kind of privacy when it comes to the Internet or these new
passports. I’m an old-fashion kind of gal and the paper passports work just fine for me. No one can skim or eavesdrop a
single thing unless they steal the passport out of my bloody hands. Okay, that’s a little dramatic, but I’m sure you
get the picture. Is anything really secure or private anymore?