24 April, 2009
category: Biometrics, Contactless, Government
As debates have raged regarding the inclusion of an contactless smart card chips in Swiss passports containing the holder’s biometric information, experts such as Zurich’s Rapperswil Technical College professor of Internet technology Peter Heinzmann have spoken out on the potential for abuse, according to a Swiss Info article.
The debate sides see the matter as a potential for easing and securing border entries all over the world versus worries of poor data protection and will be decided by a public vote on May 17th.
Some of the concerns revolve around data protection and the misuse of the data. Heinzmann gives the example of the central database of biometric information being an attractive target for hackers as well as advertisers.
Heinzmann suggests quashing worries by reviewing procedures and having multi-layered security around the database.
Read the full story here