Well, guess just what I heard on FOX (GOVERNMENT NEWS) Network. Knew it was coming, starting Jan 23, 2007, all new passports will have a computer chip implanted in them with your personal information stored on the chip.

When the DOT representative was asked what kind of info was stored on the chip, he responded by saying well, things like your name, address, age, birthplace. I thought, you lying sack of . All that info is already written on the inside of the cover of the passport. He mentioned that the chip couldn’t be altered without the government knowing about it. He turns right around and says that he doesn't believe that this is in anyway an invasion of someone's privacy. He also committed on this is mainly designed for travelers coming and going to Canada or Mexico. He said it could be only tracked at border crossings. BS!. If my passport is sitting on my desk at home those SOB's can track that and that's a fact.

Water meters were all changed and outfitted with transponders about five years ago. This allows the city to discontinue in house meter readings and resident meter reporting. The City department vehicle drives down the street and an onboard laptop reads the transponders from every house. I have seen the car in action and have observed it process a street of 32 houses in about one minute. Unfortunately I did not know about the dangers of RFID or know about any of the police state stuff so we allowed the tech into the house to replace the meter.

The transponder is about the size of the EZ-Pass transponder and the FAST Lane for New York and Massachusetts, respectively. The car is about 60-70 feet away from the transponder and it picks up the signal. This is obviously a great concern for passport as well. The RFID has a great range.

Pretty soon all "citizens" will be required to have an internal Passport and carry their papers with them at all times. Fixed antenna arrays will capture the signal as you or I walk by them, tracking us much like our post-2001 cell phones already do.

First, odd that they'd go to some Dept of Transport mouthpiece for an explanation. Passports are still done under the Bureau of Consular Affairs in the Dept of STATE.

Second, considering that it's pretty much the same info as is printed on the passport, this chip can be used as an anticounterfeiting measure, since passports have been stolen (and their proper bearer's murdered) not only to patch another photo in for some criminal or terrorist, but also sometimes with changes in the printed information to comport with the age, height, etc. of the criminal user.

Eventually, however, these chips might be used like those toll bridge EZ passes, where the passport is just waved over a sensor and is cleared instantly without any time spent opening and reading the pages.

Please address the ability to clone RFID and you will see it is meant to increase "identity theft" not provide so-called "security". Hacking groups have already come out and said they have cloned passports and have lifted information off unsuspecting holders.

Now they don’t even have to ask for your papers, you are automatically
scan.

KMSRyana

Very disturbing, indeed. Land of the free ? I don't know much about RFID, but sounds like "1984" might have been better titled "2007"

RickJ

It sounds to me like the objections are to misuse of what sounds to me like a good use of technology. Do I misunderstand?

KMSRyana

Rick,

MY objection is exactly that... misuse. Historically government has abused it's power and infringed on our rights with technology advances.

ScottGem

I'm curious about that statement. Can you give some examples of it?

KMSRyana

Absolutely. Please don't get me wrong, I'm not against our government. I think this is the best place on earth and I have travelled abroad. I don't think the problem is our government, it's individuals within our goverment that abuse what power we give them.

The biggest recent abuse (yes, with technology) is the altering of electronic voting machines. HBO aired a documentary that was very interesting called "Hacking Democracy" and it's worth a watch. There are many books on proven vote machine alterations as well, the most notable being "Votescam, The Stealing of America" written by James and Kenneth Collier.

After 9/11 president Bush issued orders to monitor your email and cell calls (mine too). The ACLU fought this in ACLU v NSA and won. Judge Anna Diggs Taylor ruled against the NSA and didn't have particularly nice things to say about how many of our civil rights were being violated by their monitoring.

If you wonder if "Big Brother" is for real, research eminent domain and what rights you truly have when a WalMart, Target, or IKEA wants to move in...

Again, I love where I live. I just think that somewhere along the line someone will decide to misuse this technology. It's a tough issue because they've done a pretty damn good job so far with not having a reoccurrence of an attack on our native soil. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

It's a beautiful world we live in.

NeedKarma

Wired magazine has a bit about how to disable the RFID chip - hint: it involves the careless use of a hammer.

Edit to add: found the article here.

KMSRyana

LOL !! "Careless"

ScottGem

I was expecting the warrantless wire tapping by the NSA. I agree that was one of Bush's more blatant abuses. Where I disagree is that it infringed "our rights with technology advances". The same thing about the voting machines (and I did see parts of that HBO documentary).

My point here is that wire tapping and survellance has been going on for as long as there have been governments. I don't feel there is anymore infringment with technology. Its made it easier, but there have been wire taps as long as there have been wires going back to telegraphs. There have been voting irregularities as long as there has been voting.

Better examples might be use of EZ-Pass records to track people's movements, but as long as a legal warrant is used to get that info I don't have a problem with it.

Lets look at the RFID chip in a passport. I don't see a problem with it as long as I can use a reader to verify the info stored about me.

KMSRyana

It's the ease with which it's done now that infringed "our rights with technology advances" that bothers me. Should someone call me on my cell phone and they monitor (via satelite on my post 2001 cell phone) it violates the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act passed by Congress in the wake of the Watergate scandal. How easy it is compared to before is scary to me. I agree 100% that surveilance and voting irregularties have been going on far beyond modern times.

And forget governmental abuses for a minute. Your name, address, and birthdate (and cross your fingers they don't put your Social on it) can be picked up so easily. Currently many cars are stolen where the theif waits in his vehicle in a parking lot. When a victim gets in or out of their car the theif can capture the frequency transmitted from the remote to the vehicle, later simply sending it back to the car and opening it with no damage. Identity Theft is already out of control and poorly enforced by Law Enforcement in my opinion. Now imagine what it's going to be like when they can pick up someones vitals by being within a few feet... scary, if you ask me.

BTW, Scott... I have read several stupid arguments here. I don't veiw this as an argument, just a discussion/debate from many sides and I do see this as a good discussion and value your opinion.