German chipmaker Infineon is the winning bidder to supply security chips for
the new U.S. e-passports, which the Department of State began issuing
earlier this month.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
E-Passports contain an individual’s biographic information and a digital
photograph. The Infineon chip, embedded in the back cover of the document,
contains the same information.
A separate piece of hardware at airports and other ports of entry will
“read” the information on the chip.
The hardware contains a security feature
known as Basis Access Control (BAC), which is intended to prevent the
unauthorized reading or “skimming” of information on the passports by
devices other than the authorized reader.
According to the U.S. Department of State, metallic anti-skimming material used in the front cover and spine of the new passport will also reduce the threat of
unauthorized reading.
In addition to shielding
and BAC, Infineon said there are more than 50 individual security mechanisms
inside the chip, including the capacity for encrypting data.
Infineon said the actual data transmission between the e-passport and the
reader occurs over a distance of about four inches.
The company already supplies its secure identification chips to more than 20
countries that are currently using e-passports or are in the testing stage.
In addition, Infineon provides the chips used in e-identity documents used
in Italy, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Belgium, as well
as the chips used for secure identification cards issued by the U.S.
Department of Defense.
“Our chips have successfully passed some of the most stringent security
tests in the world. We are very happy to be chosen to supply the electronics
for the large-scale rollout of the U.S. electronic passport,” Christopher
Cook, managing director of Infineon Technologies North America, said
in a statement.
The State Department estimates that as many as 15 million new
e-passports will be issued over the next 12 months, the largest rollout of
e-passports in the world.
The Department of Homeland Security hopes biometric technologies will
prevent the use of fraudulent or stolen international travel documents.
After more than a two-year delay over the security
of the new passports, the U.S. began issuing electronic passports to
diplomats and other government workers in late 2005.
