US to abandon biometric passport?

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Steven M. Bellovin" <smb () cs columbia edu>
Date: June 13, 2005 5:34:19 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net
Subject: US to abandon biometric passport?


http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/06/13/us_bio_passports/

US expected to abandon Biometric passport plan
By electricnews.net
Published Monday 13th June 2005 14:23 GMT

Rules requiring Irish citizens to carry high-tech passports when
visiting the US are to be dropped because the technology behind
the scheme is seen as unreliable. The US Department of Homeland
Security had previously set an October 2005 deadline for the
inclusion of biometric information chips in the passports of European
citizens who avail themselves of the Visa Waiver programme. This
programme allows people to make short-term visits to the US without
a visa. The chips would have included a variety of biological
information about the passport holder, such as their fingerprints
and retina scans.

But according to a report in the Sunday Times, Ireland has shelved
plans to include biometric chips in passports amid expectations
that the US is to abandon its biometric passport requirements.

...


        --Steven M. Bellovin, http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~smb




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