New RFID Travel Cards Could Pose Privacy Threat

Declan McCullagh and Anne Broache write on C|Net News:

A top Homeland Security official said Tuesday that future government-issued travel documents may feature embedded computer chips that can be read at a distance of up to 30 feet, creating what some fear would be a threat to privacy.

Jim Williams, director of the Department of Homeland Security's US-VISIT program, told a smart card conference here that such tracking chips could be inserted into the new generation of wallet-size identity cards used to ease travel by Americans to Canada and Mexico starting in 2008.

More here.