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New US passports contain secure identification chips

Infineon Technologies has received a multimillion-piece purchase order from the United States government to supply technology for a new electronic passport. The new passports will facilitate international travel by allowing automatic identity verification, faster immigration inspections, border protection, and security. They include a computer chip in the back cover that securely stores the same information as that printed on the document.



“The United States is helping to set the pace for adoption of more secure travel documents around the world,” says Christopher Cook, managing director of Infineon Technologies North America. “As the leading supplier of the specialized chips used for secure personal identification, financial transactions, and access to electronic systems, our chips have successfully passed some of the most stringent security tests in the world. We are happy to be chosen to supply the electronics for the largescale roll-out of the US electronic passport.”

The electronic passport has multiple layers of security to protect the privacy of holders. These layers include basic-access control, which requires the border-control inspector to pass the document over a scanner that reads coded information and then authorizes the electronic reader to access the data stored on the chip. The actual data transmission occurs over a distance of about 4 in. (10 cm).

In addition to shielding and basic-access control, the chip has more than 50 security mechanisms— including sophisticated computing methods for encrypting data—to help ensure that personal data remains private. Security mechanisms also include active protective shields on the surface of the chip and sensors that help prevent unauthorized people from being able to read the contents of the chip. —by Vinod Kataria, EDN Asia, Infineon Technologies, www.infineon.com.