These passports were issued as part of a pilot project that began in 2009 to test the features of Canada’s new e-passports, which, to date, have yielded no problems.

Electronic passports contain a small electronic chip – an RFID chip – embedded in the cover that contains key information about the passport carrier such as their name, gender, date of birth and a digital photograph of the carrier. Some electronic passports contain biometric information as well and require digital confirmation of physical attributes such as fingerprints and iris patterns.

The new Canadian passports will not contain most of this biometric information.

According to an article published by the CBC, the chip on the new passports will contain “the holder’s photo and a country-specific signature that proves the passport was issued by the Government of Canada.” In addition, “the visible photo must match the photo stored on the chip, as well as the ghost photo printed in ultraviolet ink.”

However, the photo on the chip will allow facial recognition software to be used at check-ins where it is available, such as at London’s Heathrow airport who is gearing up to introduce facial biometric scanners at its international flight terminals.

The chip is an additional layer in Canadian passport security, Passport Canada said.
Initial plans were to have the new e-passport ready for the public by 2010 but this summer reports suggested they could be delayed until early 2013.

SOURCES:
CBC: “New E-Passport Price Tag Could Be Hefty”
Embassy Magazine: “E-Passport Roll-Out Delayed A Third Time”

The facial recognition scanners will be a second step in a security process installed at Heathrow. Currently, the airport uses the Atkins Passenger Authentication Scanning System (PASS) – a system that maintains passport security through low-level biometrics such as name identification, birthdate recognition and fingerprint technology.

Once an international passenger has checked in with their electronic passport – a passport that contains essential information such as the passenger’s name, age, sex, place of birth, nationality and, in some cases, fingerprints – using the PASS system, they will then be required to proceed to the facial recognition scanners to complete their check-in.

Using an infrared flash, the facial scanners will then take a photo of the passenger’s face and match the biometric information obtained from the facial scan with information contained on their electronic passport.

The scanning and verifying process should only take about 4.7 seconds, according to an article published by tech blog Singularity Hub.

More and more airports around the world are looking to increased biometrics as a way to make traveling safer and more efficient.

“There has been a drive over the past few years by governments – with e-passports and e-visas – to include a biometric in the travel document to make sure the person is the legitimate owner of that document,” said Sean Farrell, the Sita biometrics portfolio director during a webinar on aviation information technology last year. “We’re going to see biometrics grow very quickly from border management to other places at the airport.”

SOURCES:
Singularity Hub: “Heathrow Airport To Adopt Face Scanners To Screen Passengers”
The Transnational: “Experts: More Biometric Checks Coming To Airports”
Homeland Security News Wire: “Heathrow Deploys Face Recognition Scanners”
The Guardian: “New facial recognition scanners to be introduced at Heathrow”

“A proposed national roll-out of electronic passports in Canada has been pushed back for a third time,” according to a new article published by Embassy Magazine.

When the plans for a national e-passport were unveiled in early 2010, Passport Canada said they expected to have them available to the public by as early as 2012. Embassy Magazine reported this week that a new strategic planning document released by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade said the passports could be delayed until early 2013.

Electronic passports contain a small electronic chip – an RFID chip – embedded in the cover that contains key information about the passport carrier such as their name, gender, date of birth and a digital photograph of the carrier. Some electronic passports contain biometric information as well and require digital confirmation of physical attributes such as fingerprints and iris patterns.

The new Canadian passports will not contain biometric information. Monique Bolvin, a Passport Canada spokeswoman, told CBC last year that Canada chose not to include fingerprints and iris scans, which weren’t needed to comply with the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

“Right now the ICAO standard is the facial image,” she said.

Currently, over 80 countries around the world use e-passports and Canada is the only G8 country that has fallen behind the trend.

SOURCES:
Embassy Magazine: “E-passport roll-out delayed a third time”
CBC: “New Electronic Passports Unveiled”

The ICAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that sets the standards for international air transport to ensure safe travels and orderly growth. In 2004, when countries like the UK, Australia and Singapore began introducing e-passports to enhance security measures at border crossings, the agency implemented a recommendation that every country convert to these kinds of passports by 2010.

The lag in timeline isn’t necessarily a bad thing though.

Because some countries have yet to adopt electronic passports, when they do, they are more likely to jump to the second-generation passports, which provide even more security features and ensure safer travel.

First generation e-passports contain the holder’s information in a small Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip embedded in the passport cover. This information includes name, date of birth, height, weight, age, etc – all the details you would expect to find in a non-electronic passport. First generations can also carry biometric information, such as fingerprints, iris scans and DNA recognition.

Second generation e-passports contain all the same information but are simply increased in capacity for both information and safety. Second generations have a more powerful chip with increased storage space (nearly double than that of the first generation’s), which improves processing speeds. The new chips also offer greater protection against unauthorized reading, only allowing access when synced at terminals.

“The high levels of security and authentication provided by second-generation e-passports translates directly into increased efficiency and convenience for governments and their citizens, with secure contactless technology helping to make passport-based identity checks simpler, faster and more secure,” wrote Adam Tanguin, Sales Director of E-Government for EMEA, HID Global in a recent article.

Though the globe hasn’t met the e-passport target set out by the ICAO nearly six years ago, the agency is still confident that the recent moves toward electronic passports are a step in the right direction to developing safer travel across borders for every citizen in every country.

“This represents a first step in bringing global state travel document systems and technologies more in line with 21st century border control, facilitation and security objectives,” a spokesperson said.

SOURCE:
Contactless News: “The E-Passport Revolution: The Next Generation of Travel Security”

Using devices like retina, finger and facial scans, biometric checks not only provide a speedier check-in, but also ensures a higher degree of security.

“There has been a drive over the past few years by governments – with e-passports and e-visas – to include a biometric in the travel document to make sure the person is the legitimate owner of that document,” said Sean Farrell, the Sita biometrics portfolio director during a webinar on aviation information technology back in July.
Biometric passports include more passenger information than standard passports. Though they still contain essential information such as the passenger’s name, age, sex, place of birth and nationality, biometric passports can also contain fingerprints, facial patterns, DNA info, and iris scans. All of this information is stored on a microchip embedded in the passport called a Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) chip.

Some governments have already required that new passports for citizens include biometric information – usually facial scans or fingerprints.

In February, London’s Stansted airport introduced facial scanners called “Autogates” where a live image of the passenger standing at the gate is captured and biometric technology then compares this with the image stored on the chip embedded within the passport by measuring specific facial points. If there is a match and they clear security, the automatic gates allow the traveler across the border.

“We’re going to see biometrics grow very quickly from border management to other places at the airport,” Farrell said, noting the various expedited security clearance programs now in place. Referring to the program at Ben Gurion Airport, he explained that El Al’s frequent flyers can “use their credential at all the various points where they interact with the airline and the airport: checking in, immigration and boarding the flight.”

As of October 2009, over 79 countries had introduced biometric passports and 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, most of the 750 million passports currently in use will be replaced by electronic passports.

SOURCES:
The Transnational: “Experts: More Biometric Checks Coming To Airports”
Global Paper Security: “London Airport Introduces Biometric Scanners”

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”

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”

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.