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, though the new St. Kitts and Nevis passports will stick to basic information.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Homeland Security said the new passports will not only expedite travel for citizens between the two Carribean islands, but will also help prevent fraud and identity theft.

“The new document to be issued by the Government of St Kitts and Nevis is more secured and designed with specific imbedded features intended to enhance the integrity of the new E Passport and will facilitate more seamless travel by citizens and residents of the Federation,” the ministry stated.

St. Kitts and Nevis is one of the first countries in the region to use electronic passports.

“We are proud to be once again be leading the way in ensuring that citizens of our twin-island Federation are given an added layer of protection whenever they travel,” Elvis Newton, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Homeland Security told SKN List. “The new passports do cost more, but we are confident that nationals will understand the added cost of producing these digital passports, and will appreciate the expedited processing at various ports where they travel, when compared to those persons who do not have upgraded passports.”

Non-electronic passports are still valid in the region, though anybody requesting a new passport as of this month will be issued an electronic passport.

SOURCES:
SKN List: “New Passports Offer Added Security Features”
Caribbean 360: “St. Kitts Begins Issuing Epassports”

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”

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”

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”

As this image shows, an RFID device is embedded in the passport making it "electronic"

From news of the technologically advanced New Zealand passports, to the recent multi-million dollar contract awarded to Vancouver-based Fortress Paper to produce over two million ePassports over the next five years, the shift to electronic passports is happening on a global scale.

What makes ePassports “electronic” is Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) – a small electronic device embedded in the passport consisting of a small chip and an antenna that allow passport information to be transmitted via radio signals.

Serving the same purpose as a barcode or the magnetic strip on the back of a credit card, an RFID provides a unique identifier for a passport allowing only those who scan the document – like a border guard or an airport attendant – to retrieve the confidential information it holds.

Unlike barcodes and credit cards, however, an RFID device doesn’t need to be scanned at a close proximity and requires no contact with another device.  Some high-frequency RFID devices, like those found in some US passports, can be scanned from up a distance of up to 33 feet.

ePassports contain all the same information as non-electronic passports – name, date of birth, sex, place of birth, nationality, etc – but also have the capability to include biometric information like fingerprint, facial, DNA, and iris recognition. Digital signature technology verifies the authenticity of the data stored on the chip.

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.

SOURCES:
http://www.technovelgy.com/ct/Technology-Article.asp Technovelgy.com: “What is RFID?”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio-frequency_identification Wikipedia: “Radio-frequency identification”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometric_passport#New_Zealand Wikipedia: “Biometric passport”
http://globalpapersecurity.com/fortress-paper-announces-epassport-contract-and-an-update-on-the-planned-production-increase-at-its-landqart-mill.htm Global Paper Security: “Fortress Paper Announces ePassport Contract…”

Twenty-nine people were arrested in the inter-provincial raids as a joint police force of officers from the RCMP, the Sûreté du Québec and Montreal police targeted 39 locations in Laval, Longueuil, Blainville, Toronto and Montreal.

The Globe and Mail reports “Montreal has been a hotbed for trade in fake Canadian passports” during the past decade.

The bust comes on the heels of the Canadian government’s recent decision not to beef up security on Canadian passports.

The Toronto Sun reported last week:

“A federal privacy watchdog has rejected Passport Canada’s plan to embed fingerprints and iris scans in electronic passports.

In a review of the project, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner told the passport office not to include new biometric information on a radio frequency chip encoded in e-passports.

‘The more information you collect, the more information you put at risk,’ said assistant privacy commissioner Chantal Bernier.”

Though Passport Canada is expected to start introducing electronic biometric passports – without fingerprints and iris scans – in 2011, security features on current Canadian passports are lagging behind the technological advances around in passport security worldwide.

The Canadian passport uses microprinting, holographic images, UV-Visible imaging, and watermarks to avoid fraud, but compared to New Zealand’s new passport, for example, that uses an embedded microchip containing the holder’s biometric information and digitized photograph as well as incorporates passport paper with a different design on each page, the Canadian document is much easier to reproduce.

Over 60 countries use biometric passports worldwide including the United States, Australia, Switzerland and Russia.

SOURCES:

Examiner.com: “29 Arrested in Counterfeit Crackdown”
The Globe and Mail: RCMP Busts Alleged Counterfeiting Ring
Wikipedia: “Canadian Passport”
The Toronto Sun: E-Passports won’t Include Fingerprints”
Stuff.co.nz: “Security Stepped Up in New E-Passport”

Counterfeiting, creating artificial money for financial gain and deceives others in making them believe that it is real, is as old as money itself. In the past, nations had used counterfeiting as a means of warfare, such as in the War Between the States in the USA in the mid-1800s and the Bernhard Operation in Europe during the Second World War. The idea was to overflow the enemy’s economy with fake banknotes, so that the real value of money was reduced; therefore, attacking the economy and general welfare of a society. Today, counterfeiting of currency impacts the integrity of the financial system, damaging economies and contributing to inflation that impacts the pocket books of consumers and savers worldwide.

Recent developments in photographic, printing, computer technologies, including digital image processing, high-performance colour printers and computer scanners and printers, have made the production of counterfeit money relatively easy, thereby increasing the potential threat. These new realities have driven the need for ever-improving security for the production of banknotes, and also for other secure documents such as passports, identification cards, visa labels cheques, tickets, certificates, transport documents, revenue stamps and brand labels.

The security of a banknote starts with the material upon which it is printed; a security paper possessing the characteristics that render it difficult to copy and that presents hurdles to illegal counterfeiting – a security paper that ensures authenticity. Fortress Paper’s Landqart facility offers solutions to meet these security demands. Landqart in is a leader on the development and production of security paper. Today, Fortress supplies bank note paper to more than 30 countries; including the Swiss Franc, the recognized benchmark for quality and security.

Source – Interpol