Passports and RFID

Passports are becoming high technology kit so that governments have more control. This is an approach to keeping out undesirables. Unfortunately government policy has been to let the undesirables in first and allow them to get aforesaid high tech passports which nullifies any attempt to keep out foreign dole bludgers, religious fanatics, drug runners, disease carriers, subversives who hate England  and general riff raff.

The new RFID [ Radio Frequency ID ]  British passport has a motherboard in it with the mug shot, micro chip and aerial. This consists of five turns of copper in a rectangle about 2.75 inches by 1.5 inches. This has to pick up enough power to run the chip which will then transmit a number and quite possibly an encoded version of the photo. The range of the aerial is probably yards rather than furlongs but it can be read surreptitiously unless precautions are taken.

If you do not want it read without your knowledge wrap it in kitchen foil. The aluminium will deflect any rays directed at it. Once you are in an airport they are going to read the thing anyway.

The pretence will be that it is for your own good. They lie. The last boondoggle was the story that Islamics were going to make explosives on the aircraft by mixing them up in the loo. It was a lie which passed muster with the 90% of people who know nothing of chemistry. The few who did talk were ignored by the main stream media which proves rather adequately that they are propaganda machines controlled by the crooks who run the country. See Airport Security - Blair Lied or Liquid Bombers Prove -  They Hate Our Freedoms. If you think you know who runs the country you might care to listen to Who Really Controls America - George Carlin Tells Us then decide on a rethink.

Fake Passports For Sale?
That is what they say. Do they deliver? Pass. Do they deliver quality? Pass. Given the prices they charge the service should be excellent.

 

The Security of RFID Passports by Bruce Schneier
RFID passports have inherent problems which the originators have not really thought through. A real expert explains. BTW They can be read at 69 feet.

 

RFID enabled e-passport skimming proof of concept code released (RFIDIOt)
More information from men who know what they are about.

 

Code highlights e-passport eavesdropping risk
QUOTE
In a posting RFID enabled e-passport skimming proof of concept code released (RFIDIOt) ] on security mailing list BugTraq, Adam Laurie of secure hosting facility the bunker explains how the latest version RFIDIOt, an open-source python library for RFID exploration, contains code that implements the standard for machine readable travel documents in the shape of a test program called mrpkey.py.
UNQUOTE
It is all possible and if you think that the system is going to stay secure when it is loaded into readers at thousands of airports you are an optimist.

 

SPY CHIPPED CREDIT CARDS
Credit cards can also have RFID built in and it turns out that passports have loop aerials which fit neatly into a credit card. Is the technology identical?  Very possibly. Do they use the same machines to read them? Very probably.

This is significant because the security on the cards has been broken. They can be misused by villains, fairly sophisticated villains or villains with access to the technology. It is not high tech. Once you know the signal frequency and data format the rest follows. Cards have name, number and run out date - enough for a crook with the use of a phone. Reading dozens as they pass through a door would be easy. Passports are just as open to scanners. Get that metal foil when you are out and about.

 

ePassports and cloning
A BBC ignoramus talks to men who know. RFID technology was done badly.

 

High Tech Passport Security Broken in 48 Hours [ 17 November 2006  ]
QUOTE
ID cards: The new hi-tech biometric passport is protected by military-level encryption. We cracked it in just 48 hours. Three million Britons have been issued with the new hi-tech passport, designed to frustrate terrorists and fraudsters. So why did Steve Boggan and a friendly computer expert find it so easy to break the security codes? 
UNQUOTE
Ignore government hype and find a real expert. Some of them do it for the fun of it. Others do it for money. But it is all irrelevant. The government let millions of undesirables in and they will get these highly secure, passports just the same as honest folk. It is another step toward the Nineteen Eighty Four of George Orwell's book. The Graun has a good look at the field in
Special report - identity cards

 

Third World Criminals Buy Bent Passports For EUR 20   [ 13 May 2016 ]
They are much cheaper than the real thing; way to go. Save money and get free dole, free medicine, free housing, free everything and penalty free Rape opportunities.

Manuel Ochsenreiter,  Speaking in an interview with the AhlulBayt News Agency in Iran, explains that the refugee flood has been caused by those in the West. War Mongers like Cameron attacking Syria, Libya etc. are creating problems. So are Merkel and her ilk with their Pathological Altruism or, more likely Treason.

 

Passports For Sale In Europe  [ 9 August 2017 ]
QUOTE
Cyprus ranks 7th out of 12 countries studied in an analysis of citizenship-by-investment programmes by the Financial Times group’s Professional Wealth Management, ahead of Malta, Bulgaria and Austria, the other European Union member states on the list. The research group ranked Dominica as the top jurisdiction in scope of the study, scoring an overall 90 per cent, with St Kitts and Nevis trailing with 88. Third, with 85 per cent, was Grenada, with Antigua and Barbuda (78), Saint Lucia (76), and Vanuatu (76), following in the next three spots.

Cyprus scored 67 per cent overall, Comoros 66 and Malta 64 per cent. Bulgaria, Austria and Cambodia ranked last, with 61, 54, and 53 per cent, respectively.

The rankings were devised as the aggregate of seven indicators: freedom of movement, standard of living, minimum investment outlay, mandatory travel or residence, ease of processing, citizenship timeline, and due diligence.
UNQUOTE
Buying citizenship this way is expensive. EUR 500,000 would be about as low as it goes. The other way, the cheaper way is just go there. Illegal Immigrants are paid very handsomely to infiltrate Europe. Anyone who wants a British passport could go to Mishcon de Reya; it means being in the hands of the Jews but might cost less overall. NB Due diligence in this context might well mean blind eyes being turned, Perjury etc.

 

Cyprus denies ‘selling’ EU citizenship to rich  [ 22 September  2017 ]
'Cyprus' lies. 'It' charges EUR6 million each.

 

Forged Passports Cost £3,500  [ 26 July 2022 ]
QUOTE
Crooks are selling [ allegedly ] sophisticated fake British passports online for £3,500, the Daily Mail can reveal. The racket boasts a ‘super price and super-fast’ service. 

Gangs use pictures of the Queen and Buckingham Palace on social media to advertise passports which include ‘high quality’ bio-metric chips needed to pass UK border controls. Forgeries feature watermarks, holograms and fluorescent security features visible only under ultraviolet lights during checks at airport scanners. 

The UK-based agent for one gang offered a Mail undercover reporter a counterfeit British passport for £3,500 and an EU passport – which could also be used for illegal entry here – for £2,000. He said: ‘A lot of people came this way. Whatever you like. You like French? You like British? You like Italian? Everything.’ 

One passport forger advertises through videos on TikTok – some with more than 17,000 views – showing a cartoon Queen winking. A message in Albanian says: ‘Anyone interested in European passports suitable for crossing to England get in contact.’ 

The Mail reporter – posing as someone hoping to get relatives into the UK – contacted the gang boss ‘Nic’ who laughed and gave a thumbs-up during a video call from his home in Albania. 
UNQUOTE
The Mail is vague about details like how to actually get one, quality assurance etc. The ugly reality is that Her Majesty's Government wants Illegal Immigrants; it explains our current building boom.

 

RFID enabled e-passport skimming proof of concept code released (RFIDIOt)

By Adam Laurie (adam laurie thebunker net)

The latest version of RFIDIOt, the open-source python library for RFID exploration/manipulation, contains code that implements the ICAO 9303 standard for Machine Readable Travel Documents in the form of a test  program called 'mrpkey.py'.

This program will exchange crypto keys with the passport and read and display the contents  therein, including the facial image and the personal data printed in the passport. Currently the data read is limited to the following objects:

Data Group: 61 (EF.DG1 Data Recorded in MRZ)
Data Group: 75 (EF.DG2 Encoded Identification Features - FACE)

Other Data Groups will be implemented as and when examples come to the
author's attention.

The ICAO standard relies on a 'secret' key to protect the RFID chip from casual reading, which is derived from data printed inside the passport. However, this data is also potentially available by other means, so the key for a specific passport could be derived without physical access to the passport. The information required is as follows:

The Passport number

The Date Of Birth of the holder

The Expiry Date of the Passport

(Each of the fields also has a check digit which can be calculated by the software if not otherwise available).

The author has previously shown that this data can be obtained through other channels, such as poorly secured websites, as it is a subset of the data that is required by the US Homeland Security for Advance Passenger Information, and is therefore commonly collected by airlines and other associated organizations.
 


This article, from the UK national newspaper The Guardian, gives more details of one of the techniques used:
Q. What could a boarding pass tell an identity fraudster about you? A. Way too much

 

Others have also highlighted the possibility of brute forcing the keys, given that the components are largely predictable, giving a much smaller key space than might otherwise be supposed:
Privacy issues with new digital passport



The demonstration code (RFIDIOt.py version 0.1g) can be found here: RFIDIOt



The ICAO 9303 standard documents can be found here:
Machine Readable Travel Documents

Get the reader from ACG   It is called the HF Dual ISO



Enjoy!
Adam
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Adam Laurie Tel: +44 (0) 1304 814800
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Q. What could a boarding pass tell an identity fraudster about you? A. Way too much

But they have some uses:-

Suicide bombers know this.

 

Errors & omissions, broken links, cock ups, over-emphasis, malice [ real or imaginary ] or whatever; if you find any I am open to comment.

Email me at Mike Emery. All financial contributions are cheerfully accepted. If you want to keep it private, use my PGP KeyHome Page

Updated  on  Sunday, 21 August 2022 08:49:27