Check out the video below showing how easy it is to scan the airwaves and steal identify information from the new RFID-chip passports:
Many consumer and privacy groups have sounded the alarm about this new technology since it was proposed by Bush's Homeland Security (as part of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) over a year ago. Among the concerns are the potential for the card to be used for location tracking by government and private entities and the relative ease with which it can be manipulated for identity theft purposes. The approach is substantially different from the proximity-read technology being used in U.S. electronic passports, and it offers fewer protections.
Electronic passports contain all of the same identification data that appears on the first page of a passport, and includes a digital photograph and a digital signature. But the information on those chips is encrypted at all times and can only be accessed by physically swiping the card through a reader at the border crossing.
In contrast, the proposed RFID-enabled passport cards can be read from a distance, and without user notice, consent or control over when the information is collected. Additionally, information from the card is transmitted in the clear -- that is, without encryption. The RFID technology itself is also more susceptible to electronic eavesdropping and hacking, which makes the cards less tamper resistant compared to electronic passports.
See this article from NetworkWorld and this one from the ACLU for more details.
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