State Department seeks advice on border cards

A State Department official said Thursday that the agency formally will request information Monday on what technology should be incorporated into border-crossing cards to improve security while discouraging counterfeiting.

At an Information Technology Association of America security conference, Frank Moss, the deputy assistant secretary for passport services, asked the tech industry for input on cards for the People Access Security Service.

The cards are scheduled to be used by June 2009 as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which requires travelers from Bermuda, Canada and other hemispheric countries to present passports or other identification before entering the United States.

Moss said the cards, to be used as proof of citizenship at land borders, are likely to have "tactile features" and revert to black-and-white images to make use of more sophisticated printing techniques. The State Department issued a draft rule earlier this week, saying it is leaning toward using radio-frequency identification that can be read by machines from 30 feet.

The debate over using high-frequency versus ultra-high-frequency RFID that can be read from much greater distances has been contentious among privacy advocates, as well as the different companies producing different technologies.

The announcement this week signaled that the State Department had likely changed an earlier leaning and is now more likely to support ultra-high-frequency RFID, which the Homeland Security Department favors.

"We're encouraging comments as part of the rulemaking process because we know this has to be a dialogue," Moss said.

Dan Caprio, president of the Progress and Freedom Foundation, said he wants to see the details of the request for information but expects to offer comments. "We would oppose any sort of technology mandate pitting one portion of the industry against another," Caprio said. "Mandates are not productive, not good for innovation."

On another front, Moss said plans are on track for an e-passport deadline, which will require the 27 countries participating in the visa-waiver program to establish biometric-based passport plans. The program allows citizens from friendly countries to enter the United States without visas. Homeland Security, meanwhile, is scheduled to place e-passport readers at 34 airports by an Oct. 26 congressional deadline.

Moss said U.S. passport agencies are boosting their moves to produce e-passports with RFID devices. By March 15, he said, State will have switched to full e-passport production.

He said the data on the RFID chips will include the same information as on passports, and the passports will be housed in protective covers to prevent intercepts. "We are very confident we are addressing the security and privacy concerns," Moss said.

Jeremy Grant with the Stanford Research Group said the market for identity-management companies producing technology used in such ID cards is growing. He said spending on ID solutions is expected to grow 65 percent in fiscal 2007, to $1.26 billion.

But Grant predicted "big privacy concerns" with the chips that can be read at 30-50 feet, which he said will slow implementation of the technology.