[17191] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
USATODAY.com - EU needs more time for biometric passports
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (David Chessler)
Fri May 20 14:12:40 2005
X-Original-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
X-Original-To: cryptography@metzdowd.com
Date: Wed, 30 Mar 2005 22:29:05 -0500
To: (Recipient list suppressed)
From: David Chessler <chessler@capaccess.org>
So much for the US government's big rush to get them done this year, to the=
=20
extent that they haven't thought out the implications of the RFID chip=20
(although they realize they should call it anything but RFID, because the=20
acronym RFID is a magnet for animosity).
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-03-30-eu-passports_x.htm?POE=3DTRVI=
SVA
<http://usatoday.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=3Dcpt&title=3DUSAT=
ODAY.com+-+EU+needs+more+time+for+biometric+passports&expire=3D&urlID=3D1372=
6909&fb=3DY&url=3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.usatoday.com%2Ftravel%2Fnews%2F2005-03-30=
-eu-passports_x.htm%3FPOE%3DTRVISVA&partnerID=3D1664&showBibliography=3DY>
EU needs more time for biometric passports
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) =97 The European Union on Wednesday told the U.S.=20
Congress the bloc needed another year to implement new U.S. rules on secure=
=20
biometric passports, which include a computer chip with data such as a=20
digital photo of the passport holder.
EU justice and interior ministers had said last year they would meet this=20
year's Oct. 26 deadline. But only six of the 25 EU countries Belgium,=20
Finland, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, and Sweden will be ready to issue=20
biometric passports by that date.
After Oct. 26, citizens from 27 visa-exempt countries will have to apply=20
for a visa or have a biometric passport.
The EU's Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini wrote on=20
Wednesday to James Sensenbrenner, head of the U.S. House of=20
Representative's Judiciary Committee that although the bloc had made=20
substantial progress, it would require more time, until Aug. 28, 2006, to=20
introduce the new passports.
"Despite all the progress ... we would urge the Congress to consider a=20
second extension of the deadline," Frattini said in the letter. The United=
=20
States had already extended the original Oct. 26, 2004, deadline by a year.
Frattini said the issuing of similar U.S. passports was also experiencing=20
"a certain slippage" due to problems in adapting the new technology to=20
passports. Japan also will be unable to meet the U.S. deadline, officials=
said.
So-called biometric features can reduce patterns of fingerprints, irises,=20
voices and faces to mathematical algorithms that can be stored on a chip or=
=20
machine-readable strip. EU countries also want to include a fingerprint on=
=20
the chip.
"Despite all the progress made ... in reinforcing the security of passports=
=20
you are surely aware that critical aspects of the biometric technology,=20
such as data security and interoperability of reading devices, are still=20
being finalized," wrote Frattini.
Frattini said the EU "shares the view of the United States that more secure=
=20
travel documents are an important tool in the fight against international=20
crime and terrorism."
The United States is urging European countries to have new biometric travel=
=20
documents in place as part of its tighter border security checks following=
=20
the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
All new U.S. passports issued by the end of 2005 are expected to have a=20
chip containing the holders' name, birth date and issuing office, as well=20
as a a photo of the holders' face. The photo is the international standard=
=20
for biometrics, but countries are free to add other biometrics, such as=20
fingerprints, for greater accuracy.
Also Wednesday, the EU head office released a report on the impact of using=
=20
biometrics, which said more large-scale field trials were needed to ensure=
=20
the new technology worked properly. It also urged governments to ensure=20
safeguards for privacy and data protection in the use of biometric data.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may=
=20
not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Links referenced within this article
Find this article at:
http://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-03-30-eu-passports_x.htm?POE=3DTRVI=
SVA
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