- Passport? Check. Insurance? Check. RFID chip?
-
- The US Department of Homeland Security has decided to
trial RFID tags in an effort to make sure only the right sort of people
get across US borders.
-
- The controversial US-VISIT scheme for those visiting
the US from abroad already fingerprints holidaymakers on their way into
the country and is now adding RFID to the mix in order to improve border
management, the department said.
-
- The trials will start at a "simulated port"
in the spring and will then be extended to Nogales East and Nogales West
in Arizona; Alexandria Bay in New York; and Pacific Highway and Peace Arch
in Washington by the end of July.
-
- The testing phase will continue until the spring of next
year. The exact way RFID will be used with the travellers is not yet known.
-
- RFID chips will be used to track both pedestrians and
vehicles entering the US to automatically record when the visitors arrive
and leave in the country.
-
- So far, over 400 people have been turned away from the
country or arrested as a result of US-VISIT checks.
-
- US Under Secretary for Border & Transportation Security,
Asa Hutchinson, said in a statement: "Through the use of radio frequency
technology, we see the potential to not only improve the security of our
country, but also to make the most important infrastructure enhancements
to the US land borders in more than 50 years."
-
- The US government has already shown a marked fondness
for the tagging technology. The US Department of Defense mandated its suppliers
to use the technology, while the Food and Drug Administration is encouraging
the pharmaceutical industry to use the chips in an attempt to beat counterfeiters.
-
- Copyright © 2003 CNET Networks, Inc. All Rights
Reserved.
-
- http://management.silicon.com/government/0,39024677,39127374,00.htm
|
