In order to significantly reduce the risk of fraudes and falsifications, the European States have decided to introduce a new type of passport with radio frequency chip (“RFID chip”) that substitute the “classic” passport. Luxembourg has started to give this new electronic passport at the end of August 2006, deadline adopted all over Europe.

The new e-passport presents two fundamental differences compared to its precursor: first of all, it can be long-distance consulted without a physic direct contact enter the document and the reader, secondly, “classical” data like name, date of birth and place of residence will be integrated by biometric data, which will be in a first phase the registration of the facial photo and secondly of digital prints.

If new passports are produced by the Bundesdruckerei in Germany, the data registration is done in Luxemburg by the Ministry of Forein Affairs. All the technical and organizational measures are such as to ensure the authentication, confidentiality and integrity of registered data on the e-component of the passport.

Why e-passports?

The need to keep safe ID has frequently been cited in order to prevent the use of false identity both for public authorities and commercial transactions. The concept of e-passport was born in the area of measures adopted by the USA after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Since then controls in crossborders became drastically reinforced and the entrance in the Country has been refused to whom foreing-born has not a title of valid permit (VISA). Anyway, citizens of some countries were exempt from this obligation (“Exempt from VISA), providing that they have a passport that can be read automatically.

Even if the e-passport marks, firstly, the response to an american requirement, also the attacks in Madrid in March 2004 and in London in July 2005 has become a priority for the European Union.
The introduction of the new system has been so accelerated and its obligation is not anymore limited to direct trippes in the USA, but it is extended to who wants to require or renew a passport.

Focused on the ICAO recommendations (International Civil Aviation Organization), the e-passport will include biometric data, like the digital photo and, in a near future, also the digital print of the owner. These data are unique for each natural person and they are not, generally, subjected to any alterations or changes during the years, these personal characteristics will make more reliable the relationship between document and its owner, in order to reduce the risks of fraudulent use. (identity theft).

Legislation and pre-written procedures.

European member States apply an harmonized approach to the implementation and to the process in order that passports all over the countries must include the same data and the same security standards. This harmonization is written into the European Regulation (CE) 252/2004 of the 13 December 2004 (link of different legislative and regulatory texts are written in the last page).

According to the recommendation ICAO, among the data that must the saved into the radiofrequency chip there are name, nationality, date of birth, sex and biometric elements (facial recognition). Is planned also an additional inclusion of the digital print (even if it is indicated as “optional” by the ICAO).

In Luxemburg, procedures for the implementation of e-passport are ruled by the Grand Ducal Regulation of the 31 of July 2006, relating the regulation of the actualization of the law 14 April 1934, about biometric passport, foreing travel documents, stateless persons and refugee and the institution of a court fees for the legalization of the acts.

How it works the e-passport.

Data are codified and managed by the national administration responsible for the delivery of passports (done by the Grand Ducal by the Passports Office of the Foreing Affairs Ministry). Even if the production of Luxemburgers passports has been left to the German public society (Bundersdruckerei), personal data is inserted only in Luxembourg. DAta can be read by an optical reader; because the e-passport has got a radiofrequency chip, can be read without any physical contact.

In order to prevent no-authorized people to have the access to data – or even if copy or modify them – has been implemented different security measures:

Data are offered with an “electronic signature”. This method permits the recipient to verify if a change happens in its data.

The access to data is limited to specific read aims. This measurement is important because the radiofrequency chip does not require physical contact in order to visualize data. In order to avoid that a person equipped with a receiver, can position itself near a control point trying to intercept data included in a passport, is done a “basically access control” by using a casual number, based on the number of the passport, date of birth and the expiring date of the passport. The terminal will read these data, it will deduct the appropriate number and it will postpone to the radiofrequency chip.

Considering the possible number of combinations among these elements, the security level of data will be of 56 Bit (connection internet by a safe line “HTTPS 128 Bit”.

The effective data communication to the reader is cryptography by a system like the e-signature ones: data, firstly, are cryptographed by a first key, the terminal must have a second key in order to decrypt and have the access to data.

Having the faculties of people to which is given the biometric passport to verify personal data insert in this passport, the Passport Office will install in their locals two readers, by allowing citizens to verify data insert into the e-chip.

Risks and solutions for security breaches.

As every recent technological application, the e-passport allows a lot of privacy breach risks, at least in theory, even if the security measures. The National Commission for Personal Data Protection, which has helped with the preparations for the project of the e-passport in cooperation with the officials of the Foreing Affairs Ministry, the Justice Ministry and the State Informatic Centre in order to adopt necessary precautions for personal data protection, centred on this aspects:

Into the Grand Duchal the period of validity of the e-passport is fixed for 5 years, in Germany it is fixed for 10 years. A limited period of validity is all the more important because the growing technological evolution and the evolution of the information technology increase the risks of decryption of data registered into the passport by unauthorized people.

Even if the “Basic Access Control” has a security level of 56 Bit (2 56 possible combinations), actually it’s more than reduced; some data can be derived or calculated simply.

Therefore, if passport numbers are assigned on a continuous basis and a person knows the approximate number of passports issued per month, that person could significantly reduce the number of possible combinations. Tests carried out in the Netherlands have shown that the degree of safety could thus be reduced to 35 Bits. Nowadays, a normal computer could calculate this number of combinations in a few hours.

To rule out this risk with regard to Luxembourg’s electronic passports, the National Data Protection Commission contacted the relevant authorities and suggested that passport numbers should be randomly assigned. This solution was then actually adopted by the Luxembourg authorities and will be implemented.

Biometric data stored (or planned to store) on the passport’s radiofrequency chip is still at risk of possible misuse, as it may also contain additional information that may be “sensitive” (e.g. information about the health status or racial origin of the person concerned). The National Commission, heard on this point, has been reassured that biometric data will be deleted from the passport office archives a month after the passport is handed over to its holder.

SOURCE: AUTORITA’ PER LA PROTEZIONE DEI DATI DEL LUSSEMBURGO