How safe are e-passports with RFID chips? Know why questions are being raised on privacy:

News Topical, Digital Desk : India has started issuing chip-based passports under the Passport Seva Program 2.0 from April 1, 2024. It has been started from passport offices in 12 cities including Chennai, Hyderabad and Amritsar.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs, after the issuance of e-passports, it will become difficult for people to make fake passports. At the same time, with the e-passport, the verification of the identity of the person at the immigration counter can also be done faster.

What will be in the chip?

A gold chip will be seen in the new passport, which will have Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). This chip will contain the complete biometric data of the passport holder including his photo, finger print and iris scan.

Comply with ICAO regulations

This passport follows the global standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The person's digital signature will also be present in this chip. ICAO allows all countries to verify it. However, according to ICAO, the personal data of any person cannot be exposed. In such a situation, there are many questions regarding e-passport, the answers to which have not yet been revealed.

Questions arising on e-passport

The government has not yet clarified this -

Who can scan the chip in the e-passport?
For example, will airlines, banks or private companies providing courier services be able to access the chip's data?
Will there be any restrictions on storing the scanned data?
Will passport holders be able to see the data stored in the chip?
Will holders be able to check where and who has access to their passport data?
What arrangements have been made to keep passport holders' data safe?

Problems arose in barcodes too

Let us tell you that earlier this year, the government had converted the residential address printed on the passport into a barcode. But this change has created new problems. Any person can scan the barcode using a common scanner and the residential address information can be easily obtained.