New Zealand’s TV One News takes a look at the country’s newly issued e-passport. This passport is considered to be one of the most highly secure, highly technological e-passports in the world.

To learn more about e-passports read some of our previous blog posts like “What are E-Passports?”, “What are RFID Chips?, and Fortress Paper Gets Electronic Passport Contract.

SOURCE:
YouTube: “New Zealand Passport Gets A Makeover”

Canada's Passport will be upgraded to an electronic version in 2012.

Passport Canada announced this week they would be preparing themselves for the launch of electronic passports in 2012.

Like many other electronic passports, the physical appearance of the passport will not change a whole lot. The biggest change comes in the form of a small electronic chip – an RFID chip – embedded in the passport’s cover. Containing key information about the passport carrier such as their name, gender and date of birth the ePassports will also include a digital photograph of the person.

Canadians will have the choice of the current five-year passport or one that is valid for 10 years once the e-passports are implemented.

Though the passports will be launched in a few years, the wait times for ePassports in the conversion process are a cause of worry for some. Back in February, more than 28,000 people in Taiwan applied for ePassports on the same day when the Chinese government decided to raise the fee for passports from NT$400 to NT$1,600. The Philippines saw a recent flood of passport with the looming summer travel season on the horizon receiving at least 30,000 applications since March subsequently doubling the wait time for new passports in that country.
But wait times prior to receiving an ePassport are balanced out by the speed and efficiency of passport usage once they are in the hands of the passport carrier. The RFID chips allow airport attendants or border guards to quickly process travelers and verify their information with a simple swipe of a scanner.

While all ePassports contain the same basic information, others can contain more advanced biometric information such as digital recognition of physical features like fingerprints. London’s Stansted Airport began using facial recognition technology in February introducing Autogates – a self-serve gate that scan the face of passengers and check the digital image against the bearer’s passport photo in seconds.

Canada’s new ePassports won’t have these kinds of high-tech biometrics, just the RFID chips with basic passport information.

As of October 2009, over 100 million e-passports had been issued globally. With over 70 million new e-passports being issued every year, it is estimated that over the next ten years electronic passports will replace most of the 750 million passports currently in use.

SOURCES:
ePassports: Will they improve the system?
Migration Expert: “New Canadian E-Passports To Be Launched”
Phil Technology: “E-Passport Processing Time Doubled”
Taiwan Post: “Over 28,000 People Apply For E-Passport In One Day”

Over the past few years, radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips have become a staple in information storage and protection. Generally used for tracking particular products in a retail environment, for automatic electronic payments, and for animal identification on large farms, RFID technology has been brought to the attention of the public over the past few years due mostly due to their inclusion in electronic passports.

A Short History

The grandfather of RFID technology was actually a spy tool for the Soviet Union. Invented in 1945, the device retransmitted radio waves with audio information. Even though this was a covert listening device and not an identification tag, this spy tool is considered to have paved the way for RFID technology because it was a passive device that was energized and activated by electromagnetic waves from an outside source.

In 1969, inventor Mario Cardullo introduced a radio-frequency device to the New York Pork Authority that was to be used in the transportation sector. Cardullo’s initial business plan showed that the technology could not only be used as an automatic toll system, but also as a security device.

Today, RFID technology is commonplace in the developed world. Because of their micro size, these chips can be embedded into many devices. This technology has particularly helped retailers keep track of products in the shipping and receiving sector. This video shows how:

How RFID Works

Serving the same purpose as a bar code or a magnetic strip on the back of a credit card, RFID chips are information carriers. And just like a credit card must be swiped to gain access to the information it stores, so too must an RFID chip be scanned. The main difference, however, is that unlike a credit card or a bar code, the RFID chip doesn’t need to be in a close proximity to the scanner and requires no contact with another device. Some high-frequency RFID devices can be scanned from a distance of up to 33 feet.

The information on the chip is retrieved via radio frequencies. An antenna puts out radio-frequency signals providing the chip with a means of communication and also the energy to communicate. When an RFID chip passes through the field of the scanning antenna, it detects the activation signal from the antenna. That “wakes up” the RFID chip, and it transmits the information on its microchip to be picked up by the scanning antenna.

RFID and Passports

Electronic passports are gaining popularity all over the world. As of October 2009, over 100 million e-passports had been issued globally.

What makes an electronic passport “electronic” is the RFID chip embedded in the front cover of the passport. The chip contains all the same information that a normal passport would contain – name, date of birth, sex, place of birth, nationality, etc – and this information can be retrieved by border guards or airport attendants with one simple scan thus saving timing and enhancing security at border crossings.

Some RFID chips in e-passports can also contain biometric information – a digital scan of a passenger’s physical characteristics such fingerprints, DNA and irises. In February 2010, London’s Stansted Airport began using these biometric passport gates (read “London Airport Introduces Biometric Scanners”).

In January 2010, Vancouver-based security paper manufacturer Fortress Paper announced a contract that would see the company produce approximately 2,500,000 unites over the net five years (read “Fortress Paper Announces E-passport Contract”), and with over 70 million new e-passports being issued every year, it is estimated that over the next ten years, most of the 750 million passports currently in use will be replaced by electronic passports.

SOURCES:
Technovelgy.com: “What is RFID?”
YouTube: “RFID Technology”
Wikipedia: “Radio-Frequency Identification”

Fortress Paper Ltd (FTP.TO), a Canadian producer of security and specialty papers, on Thursday said it received a contract for electronic passports that will generate revenue of C$10 million over five years.

Fortress said it will make about 2.5 million electronic passports, enabled with radio frequency identification (RFID), which will contain the holder’s personal data and other biometric information.

 The Vancouver, British Columbia-based company also said it plans to increase its banknotes production capacity to 10,000 tonnes a year from current 2,500 tonnes, helped by expansion at its Landqart Mill. The company plans to rebuild its paper machine and said the expansion would require a capital expenditure of about C$50 million.

 Shares of the company closed at C$10.38 Thursday on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Source: by Gowri Jayakumar for Reuters, January 14 2009

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, January 14, 2010 – Fortress Paper Ltd. www.fortresspaper.com (“Fortress Paper” or the “Corporation”) today announces its inaugural ePassport contract, for approximately two million five hundred thousand units representing estimated aggregate revenues in excess of $10 million over five years. Fortress Paper also announces that its Board of Directors has approved a plan to increase the production capacity of its banknotes from the current 2,500 tonnes per annum to approximately 10,000 tonnes per annum.

ePassport Contract

Chad Wasilenkoff, Chief Executive Officer of Fortress Paper reports, “This initial ePassport contract, or reference contract, is generally the most difficult to obtain.  We feel this significant milestone now provides us with a platform to secure additional contracts in this rapidly growing and lucrative segment of the identification industry.”

Electronic passports, also referred to as ePassports, are RFID, radio frequency identification, enabled passports which have an embedded chip containing the holder’s personal data and other biometric information, such as a digital photograph or fingerprint.  As of October 2009, over 79 countries had introduced biometric passports and over 100 million ePassports had been issued globally. With over 70 million new ePassports being issued every year, it is estimated that over the next ten years, most of the 750 million passports currently in use will be replaced by electronic passports.

Electronic passports securely store biographical information and digital images that are identical to the information that is visually displayed in the passport. Contactless chip technology allows the information stored in an ePassport to be read by special chip readers at a close distance. Digital signature technology verifies the authenticity of the data stored on the chip.  The ePassport facilitates travel by allowing automated identity verification for faster immigration inspections and greater border protection and security.  As travel security has become increasingly important, ePassports have become the industry standard.

The Visa Waiver Program “VWP” in the United States, allows foreign nationals from certain countries to be admitted to the U.S. under limited conditions and for a limited time without obtaining a visa. Visitors who wish to travel on to the United States, and who are citizens of countries included in the program, have to present their passports at any U.S. port of entry. Passports issued after October 26, 2006 must be ePassports – that is, include an integrated computer chip in order to be eligible for entry under the VWP.

ePassport symbol

Paper Machine No. 1 Rebuild

Fortress Paper’s Board of Directors has approved a plan to increase the production capacity of its banknotes from the current 2,500 tonnes per annum to approximately 10,000 tonnes per annum. The rebuild of its PM1 Machine, currently utilized for lower margin specialty papers and low to medium security papers, into a higher margin high output banknote paper machine is expected to commence in the first quarter of 2010 with banknote production from this rebuilt machine scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2011. This expansion initiative requires a capital expenditure at its Landqart Mill of approximately CDN $50 million. Fortress is currently finalizing a number of bank and debt based financing options.