According to the tech new site The Register Government ministers are evading the acknowledgement that British ID cards will include RFID chips.
Home Office Minister Andy Burnham:
There are no plans to use radio frequency identification tags in ID cards… suppliers were asked for their views on the durability and costs of contact, contact-less, dual interface and hybrid cards. This survey concluded that a 10 year life for a contact-less card, incorporating a secure smartcard chip with a radio frequency contactless interface, was feasible.
Got that? So the Home Office isn’t using RFID tags, but is using a “chip with a radio frequency contactless interface”.
A commenter at the NO2ID website writes
Because if you think about it, 3rd party readable RFID-enabled ID Cards are *heaven* for identity thieves…
I couldn’t agree more.
Bruce Schneier has a very detailed analysis of the security of RFID in identity documents.
Tags: computer security, ID cards, security
