Thread by @dergigi

1/ Quick thread on passports, facial recognition, biometrics, and other digital shenanigans.

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2/ If you got a new passport in the last ~10 years it probably has an NFC chip in it. These are known as "Biometric Passports" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometric…

3/ Flashback to 2006: "Nearly every country issuing this passport has a few security experts who are yelling at the top of their lungs and trying to shout out: 'This is not secure. This is not a good idea to use this technology'" news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programme…

4/ In spite of these security concerns, these passports have been introduced over a decade ago and are now issued and used worldwide.

5/ Some of the stuff on this chip, such as your basic passport info, can be read very easily. You can even try it yourself with apps like ReadID, as long as your phone has NFC. play.google.com/store/apps/det…

6/ However, the stuff that can be read by you is not everything that is on this chip. Depending on the issuing country, it contains additional biometric data such as fingerprints, information about your scars, and even tattoos.

7/ Note that you can not opt-out of this. In the EU, for example, all of this is required by law. And if you do not want to give away your fingerprints, you will not get a passport.

curia.europa.eu/juris/document…

8/ So, who can access your fingerprints and the beautiful tramp stamps on your lower back? Well, everyone who has the key, of course. For now, these are mainly border control and similar official systems.

9/ Are these systems secure? Well, I'll let you be the judge: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biometric…

10/ This technology will slowly make its way into other documents: driver's licenses, ID cards, residence permits, etc.

11/ The article which triggered me to write this correctly states that "FBI, ICE find state driver’s license photos are a gold mine for facial-recognition searches" (h/t @matt_odell)

washingtonpost.com/technology/201…

12/ Make no mistake: the fact that ID photos are a treasure trove for facial recognition is not something that the FBI or the ICE have discovered by accident. Passport specification is talking about facial recognition as far back as 13 years ago, as this 2006 document shows.

13/ Facial recognition is part of the reason for ever-stricter photo standards. Hats, glasses, reflections, busy backgrounds, poor lighting, pixelation, and other issues make the life of facial identification software more difficult.

14/ Why care? Well, in the words of William Gibson: "The future is already here — it's just not very evenly distributed."

In terms of surveillance and social control, China is leading the way.

abc.net.au/news/2018-09-1…

15/ In the future, we might all be living in the Chinese "Utopia" of paying with your face and getting access to travel, healthcare, and financial services only if your social credit score is high enough.

Fun fact: official documents use "Utopia" as a placeholder.

16/ Airports provide a glimpse into what is to come. They are the testing grounds of many of these technologies. And if stressed travelers put up with it, citizens will probably put up with it too.

17/ You only need the tiniest bit of imagination and a cursory knowledge of 20th-century history to realize how horrible all of this could end.

It's time to care about your inherent human right to privacy. nytimes.com/interactive/20…

18/ What to do? Well, I don't know, to be honest. If you've read this far you already made the first step: inform yourself. One second step I can recommend is donating to organizations that are fighting for your rights - the @EFF for example. supporters.eff.org/donate/

19/ I wrote this thread to inform and raise awareness. I know from personal experience that not too many people know about these things, but I believe that they should.

Stay safe out there, don't let yourself be surveilled, and always encrypt your backups.