In this report, the main focus is on the topic of Biometric Passport, also known as the E-passport. In the following sections, it will analyze the how the E-passport will be a game-changer, in terms of future travel experience and biometric-based security.
The research methodology is mainly based on secondary sources like articles and government websites to provide relevant information on this specific innovation.
For the following sections, it will cover the brief overview of E-passport and the evolution of the passport as an official travel document. Based on the analysis of the current situation, there is a comprehensive discussion to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of the E-passport.
On top of that, it also includes how the E-passport can be further developed and the possibilities to incorporate biometric technology into other products and services. In the conclusion, personal opinions will also be integrated into the report to analyze the growth potential for this innovation.
Although the E-passports issued must be in accordance with the ICAO’s global standardized requirements, each nation may differ slightly from each other in providing additional enhanced security features to further strengthened their respective E-passports. Moreover, due to security-sensitive concerns, this may become a challenge during research data gathering. Hence, the above-mentioned issue may prove to be a limitation for this research paper.
Biometrics is defined as the science and technology of assessing the human’s biological information, which considers the uniqueness of each individual’s genetic make-up. Some of these measurements will include DNA, fingerprints, eye retinas and irises’ patterns, voice and facial recognitions for identification purposes (Sutherland, 1998).
In 2005, the U.S. Department of State- Office of Passport Policy, Planning and Advisory Services issued the first Biometric Passport, also known as the E-passport (Biba, 2005). Like the name suggests, it incorporates biometric technology into the use of a passport. With the introduction of the E-passport, it will be able to change the future of travel experience.
Since its introduction, some countries have adopted the E-passport over the recent years and more will be following suit in time to come. The E-passport that is issued by any country must be in accordance with the standardized requirements set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) (Biba, 2005). The ICAO has selected facial recognition as the key global biometric measurement, followed by the fingerprint and iris identification (Kimaldi). Nations that issued the E-passports will be required to upload their respective digital certificate onto a global secured database called Public Key Directory (PKD) (Kirk, 2008).
Being a member of the U.S Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and ICAO, Singapore issued its first batch of E-passports on 29 April 2006 (Ministry of Home Affairs Singapore, 2006). This means that eligible Singaporeans will be able to travel to U.S now for leisure or business purposes for up to 90days or less, without the need to obtain a visa (Bureau of Consular Affairs, U.S Department of State).
Similar to the paper passport, the exception is that an E-passport contains a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) chip that is inserted in the back cover (How Stuff Works). This electronic chip will contain the personal information like name, date of birth, nationality and etc. Not only that, it also includes the digital images of the fingerprint, iris, facial features and signature of the owner. It also employs the use of contactless chip technology. In order to read the biometric information in the electronic chip, a specific machine reader or scanner will be needed.
For many years, the passport has become one of the required official travel documents to allow an individual to gain entry and exit from a country. In this section, it provides a descriptive timeline before the introduction of the E-passport.
Initially, a passport was not considered as a mandatory travel document. People could travel easily to another city or country using the basic modes of transport. However, the idea of passport began in 1912, during the World War I, to protect national security, identify citizens and monitor the flow of travellers into the country. During then, most people thought that this was only a momentary wartime measure. However, by the mid 1920s, the passport became the standardized travel document to be used by countries worldwide (Australian Passport Office).
From the early 20th century, having a photograph glued on the passport was one of the features to identify the individual. The only way to validate the identity the passport owner was by comparing the bearer’s signature. On top of that, it was not compulsory for each individual to own a passport then, since a family usually travel together. Hence, a picture of the family members would be considered as sufficient and glued on the passport (Passport Canada, 2010).
Later, it gradually evolved to machine-readable passports. Not only that, it also became compulsory for each individual to possess a passport under their own name. Important personal details and the photograph of the passport bearer would be laminated to prevent tampering of information. In the early 21st century, digital printing and holographs were also integrated into the passport (Passport Canada, 2010). This would require an ultraviolet light (UV) reader to view the information, thereby further enhancing the security features of the passport.
On the other hand, the ICAO initiated the research in 1999 on the prospect of employing the use of biometric information in passports (Boggan, 2008).
In this section, it will cover the discussion and analysis of the positive and negative implications of the E-passport based on the current situation.
From the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), it is estimated that the annual traffic flow of international tourists has increased from 25 million in 1950 to 806 million in 2005, with an average growth of more than 6.5% yearly. With the E-passport, it will greatly help international airports handle the large volume of travellers daily. More importantly, there is a need to keep track and screen the flow of travellers into the country.
As mentioned earlier, the E-passport contains an electronic chip that holds the biometric information of an individual. With access control features incorporated into the E-passport, this will encrypt the data, making it difficult to duplicate or amend the information. Therefore, this will serve a better authentication purpose in verifying the owner of the passport. On top of that, in the case of misplacement, it also prevents identity theft.
With the E-passport, this will help to prevent potential terrorists from entering into the country. After the 9/11 attacks in 2001, there is a strong international need to further strengthen border security. Moreover, security measures were tightened to prevent the tragedy of terrorists’ attacks from happening again. Similarly, the E-passport also aids in keeping track the flow of travellers and blocks illegal immigrants. This issue is a common problem faced by many countries in the world. Often, these immigrants enter a country through illegal means in search of a better life. Due to the complexities in creating a counterfeit E-passport, the possibility of forgery is reduced. Therefore, it becomes difficult to enter into a country based on fraudulent information.
Lastly, it brings about much convenience by minimizing the waiting time at custom checkpoints. With the E-passport, it becomes possible to automate the process at the passport control. Hence, this will be able to shorten the administration, making it more efficient without compromising on security checks. The implementation of SmartGate Kiosk for the E-passport is an example of automated process. The SmartGate Kiosk works simply by placing the passport into the reader, responding to some standard questions on the touch screen and looking at the camera for the facial recognition check (Australian Customs and Border Proection Service, 2010). In this way, travellers will be able to be granted fast access at custom checkpoints.
Generally, private companies manufacture E-passports and the biometric information in the chip is stored into a database. This may indirectly raise the issue of how secure is one’s personal data, as there is a possibility that the database may be hacked into.
Due to the technologies involved, an E-passport is more expensive than the conventional paper passport. This is considering the fact that a lot of research has been done by countries to make the E-passport more secure. Take for example, U.K has already invested more than 415million pounds into the E-passport scheme (Johnson, 2006). However, most governments usually subsidize some of the cost to make it fairly affordable for almost everyone. On top of that, airports will also have to invest in additional biometric systems to read the E-passports at customs checkpoints. These readers may prove to be costly to install and maintain.
Since the E-passport has only been introduced a few years ago, it has yet to be adopted by every country in the world. Hence, it will require some time before the E-passport is being used worldwide. Not only that, there is also still a certain majority of people who have yet to renew or convert their passports. Though their passports have not expired, they may either have to re-apply for the E-passport or a visa, especially when travelling to countries like America.
As mentioned earlier, countries that issued E-passports will need to upload their digital certificate to an internationally governed database. There is a need for combined international efforts to share information freely in a common database. However, out of the 50 countries, only 10 are willing to do so. Not only that, there are currently 5 nations, who have already contributed to PKD (Kirk, 2008).
On another note, according to Jeroen van Beek, a security researcher at the University of Amsterdam, he has managed to devise a method to successfully clone and hack the information found in the RFID chip of the E-passport (Boggan, 2008). Not only that, this step-by-step process has been made available online (Beek, 2008) (The Hackers Choice). In addition, Lukas Grunwald, a technological expert, has also been able to do the similar with the aid of equipment worth only USD200 (Johnson, 2006). With these examples, it increases the possibility of identity theft for travellers, which defeats one of the main objectives of the E-passport.
Based on the negative implications discussed earlier, there is a need to improve the E-passport to pre-empt the possibility of forgery, hackers and virus attacks against the databases, resulting to private information being stolen. Therefore, the ICAO will be announcing the Supplemental Access Control (SAC) as an additional security feature in the upcoming launch of the 3rd Generation of E-Passports, which will be integrated by 2014 (KROWNE, 2011).
According to Anna Park, one of the expert speakers for Future Travel Experience 2011, she foresees biometric technology to be fully incorporated and implemented as a vital aspect in the future travel process (Ghee, 2011). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has also designed the Checkpoint of the Future by using biometric-based security (Future Travel Experience, 2011). Therefore, in accordance with the development plan for the Future Travel Experience, the E-passport can be viewed as a stepping-stone.
On the other hand, looking at the rate of technological advancements today, any idea has the possibility to become reality in time to come. Besides the E-passport, biometric technology has much potential to be implemented into other products and services, especially for the purpose of identification access. Considering that the keyless technology is already made available in the market now, especially for cars, the use of biometrics can be combined to further enhance security. Not only that, this can also be applied to our homes and offices as well.
Exploring further, a futuristic idea is to implant the biometric chip into our bodies. By doing so, it will be able to bring much convenience and make our environments more secured. Furthermore, we will be able to scrap the conventional use of access cards.
In order to develop this idea, firstly, we will have to set up a common system to link access to our cars, homes and offices together. On top of that, we can also include banking services to ease transactions. With all the relevant data stored in one electronic biometric chip, we will be able to travel around freely, without worrying that we will lose our personal belongings. Hence, the highlight of this idea is to integrate biometric technology to facilitate our daily lives by having a single use for different functions.
Although there are many benefits of the E-passport, there are also some security concerns that have surfaced. Though these issues indirectly question the necessity to incorporate biometric technology into the use of a passport, the advantages of the E-passport outweigh the disadvantages. On top of that, it is noted that biometric information is considered as one of the most accurate methods to validate the identity of the bearer.
Moreover, a lot of resources have been put into the research by countries to make the E-passport more secure. As the E-passport has been introduced only a few years ago, teething problems are definitely inevitable. Therefore, instead of withdrawing the scheme, we should relook at ways to further enhance the security features of the E-passport.
On the other hand, as mentioned in the earlier section of Future Considerations, it shows the possibility to apply this technology into other products and services. Not only that, there is also a need to strengthen the security features to prevent the E-passport to become a bane instead.
In conclusion, the E-passport is considered a revolutionary product, as it has managed to incorporate biometric technology into the use of a passport. Not only that, there is also much growth potential for this product. Considering the development plan to integrate biometric technology into the future travel experience, it is a milestone to be able to convert the conventional paper passport into a biometric-based travel document and be used by countries worldwide in time to come.
