RFID Secure US Passports: Order Placed ...

Infineon receives RFID-enabled electronic-Passport order from US government, as all new passports will require the technology by end of this year. Infineon has experience with a number of countries and their e-passport implementations. ...

... "Infineon Technologies AG announced that it received a multi-million piece purchase order from the United States government to supply its highly-secure integrated circuit technology for the new electronic passport. Designed to facilitate international travel by allowing automatic identity verification, faster immigration inspections and greater border protection and security, the new passports include a computer chip in the back cover that securely stores the same information that is printed on the document. The US began issuing electronic passports to diplomats and other government workers in late 2005, and is now expanding the program to include the widely issued tourist passport used by private citizens. By the end of this year, the government expects that all new US passports will be issued as electronic passports.

Infineon supplies its secure identification chips to more than 20 countries that have begun to use electronic passports or have begun to test this technology, including Germany, Hong Kong, Norway and Sweden. In addition, Infineon provides the secure chips inside electronic identity documents used in such countries as Italy, Finland, the United Arab Emirates, Australia and Belgium, and also for Hong Kong, as well as the chips used for secure identification cards issued by the US Department of Defense. As a security measure, the US Congress passed legislation requiring that countries participating in the US Visa Waiver Program must issue passports with secure chip technology by October 2006. Concurrently, the US adopted this technology to conform to specifications for electronic passports developed by the international standards body for travel documents, the International Civil Aviation Organization. " ...

RFID Secure US Passports: Order Placed: Via Infineon Technologies: New US Passports Contain Secure Identification Chips ...