The chip contains a private key that cannot be read or copied, but its existence can easily be proven. Active Authentication (AA) AA prevents cloning of passport chips. According to a September 2011 United States Central Intelligence Agency document released by WikiLeaks in December 2014, 'Although falsified e-passports will not have the correct digital signature, inspectors may not detect the fraud if the passports are from countries that do not participate in the International Civil Aviation Organization's Public Key Directory (ICAO PKD).' As of January 2017, 55 of over 60 e-passport-issuing countries belong to the PKD program. Readers need access to all used public country keys to check whether the digital signature is generated by a trusted country. If a file in the chip (e.g., the picture) is changed, this can be detected since the hash value is incorrect. The digital signature is made using a document signing key which itself is signed by a country signing key. The chip contains a file, Document Security Object (SOD), that stores hash values of all files stored in the chip (picture, fingerprint, etc.) and a digital signature of these hashes. Passive Authentication (PA) PA is aimed at identifying modification of passport chip data. If BAC is used, an attacker cannot (easily) eavesdrop transferred information without knowing the correct key. Before data can be read from a chip, the reader needs to provide a key which is derived from the Machine Readable Zone: the date of birth, the date of expiry and the document number. Basic Access Control (BAC) BAC protects the communication channel between the chip and the reader by encrypting transmitted information. Using random identification numbers is optional. Non-traceable chip characteristics Random chip identifiers reply to each request with a different chip number. 5 Biometric passport photo requirementsīiometric passports have protection mechanisms to avoid and/or detect attacks:.4.3.2.4 Sovereign Military Order of Malta.However others, such as the United States Passport Card, are not. Some national identity cards, such as those from the Netherlands, Albania and Brazil, are fully ICAO 9303 compliant biometric travel documents. These standards intend interoperability between different countries and different manufacturers of passport books. To store biometric data on the contactless chip, it includes a minimum of 32 kilobytes of EEPROM storage memory, and runs on an interface in accordance with the ISO/IEC 14443 international standard, amongst others. The comparison of biometric features is performed outside the passport chip by electronic border control systems (e-borders). Only the digital image (usually in JPEG or JPEG 2000 format) of each biometric feature is actually stored in the chip. The ICAO defines the biometric file formats and communication protocols to be used in passports. Document and chip characteristics are documented in the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) Doc 9303 (ICAO 9303). These were adopted after assessment of several different kinds of biometrics including retinal scan.

The currently standardised biometrics used for this type of identification system are facial recognition, fingerprint recognition, and iris recognition. In December 2008, 60 countries were issuing such passports, which increased to over 150 by mid-2019. Malaysia was the first country to issue biometric passports in 1998. Many countries are moving towards issuing biometric passports to their citizens. Public key infrastructure (PKI) is used to authenticate the data stored electronically in the passport chip, making it expensive and difficult to forge when all security mechanisms are fully and correctly implemented.

The passport's critical information is printed on the data page of the passport, repeated on the machine readable lines and stored in the chip. It uses contactless smart card technology, including a microprocessor chip (computer chip) and antenna (for both power to the chip and communication) embedded in the front or back cover, or centre page, of the passport. This biometric symbol is usually printed on the cover of biometric (ICAO compliant) passports.Ī biometric passport (also known as an e-passport or a digital passport) is a traditional passport that has an embedded electronic microprocessor chip which contains biometric information that can be used to authenticate the identity of the passport holder.

Passport photocopy requirements