RFID Passports are Here… But Hello Kitty Will Protect You!
Engadget's Paul Miller reports that today's the day that RFID tags will start appearing in newly-issued U.S. passports. Not all new passports will get the tags, Miller writes, "since mass production has been held up by the ongoing legal dispute over the technology," but every new passport should get RFID by the end of the year.
In the meantime, Miller suggests, "If you're overly concerned about the security implications or potential apocalypse causation, you might want to nab a passport now, since traditional passports will be valid until their listed expiration date. We'll manage like usual: hills, tin-foil, condensed milk, etc."
Of course, there's always a commercial solution: as Gizmodo's Brian Lam suggests, "Privacy nuts will want to remember the Faraday Caged passport wallets from DIFRWEAR. Beats us if it will 'Foil' (heh, get it?) the radio signals from your travel docs, but it sure beats wearing a lead overcoat through LAX Customs."
And for the younger female contingent, Digital World Tokyo notes, "A company called Shelly is selling Hello Kitty RFID card protection. You just cover your card, for example a Suica, with the orifice-challenged feline, and say bye-bye to skimming attacks."
More here from Wired News.