US STATE DEPT. MANDATES NEW PASSPORTS WILL CONTAIN RFID TRACKING CHIPS

The State Department has announced it will introduce new passports with electronic features such as Radio Frequency IDentification chips, intended to match information stored on these chips to the bearer's physical appearance, and to other information. Privacy advocates say the move is a giant leap toward a state of totalitarian interference in citizens' movements and personal information.

The chips will reportedly carry 64 kilobytes' worth of digital memory capacity, enough to be prepared to hold additional information, such as digital fingerprints and/or biometric iris scans, if it is decided such information should be included in future. Officials say they intend to implement security provisions designed to prevent unauthorized access, but it is unclear at present whether "skimming" technology, meant to hack into the chips' radio availability, can be stopped in all cases. [Full Story]