Apparently, your passport is just a little more than a booklet hardly the size of a greeting card while actually it’s the most powerful tool that facilitates your movement across different countries. It is a solid proof of your nationality and identity too!
Modern passports have undergone a number of positive changes. Initially, it was a 12×18 inch sheet of paper, but now it is equipped with different kinds of security features – both visible and invisible to layman’s eye. From optically variable inks and holograms to embedded chips enabling facial recognition – with so many high-tech features, today’s passports are highly, technically sophisticated and smart enough to betray the booming smuggling industry selling fake European and U.S. Passports.
Passports follow certain design standard and security features set by International Civil Aviation Organization or ICAO that ensures that aviation regulations and policies in every country maintain uniform consistency across the world. For example, all passports should include a minimum use of various features to address 3-levels of security concerns. Also, all the passports should be machine-readable.
Let’s have a look at how use of modern technology has made your passport the most secure form of identity proof.
Holograms are not for looks only – If you meticulously check an Australian passport, you’ll see a number of holographic kangaroo duos seem to float and dance as you turn the pages, while others have psychedelic holograms of different maps, buildings, monuments tactically splashed on different pages. In 1980s, United Nations first placed holograms on its passport; until then they didn’t appear on passports. Soon after that, other countries also started taking advantage of hologram technology and UAE was the first to introduce the feature on their passports during 90s. Apart from holograms, countries are allowed to choose other features such as special material on pages, invisible ink, tiny thread with hidden message embedded into the passport pages and watermarks as per their priorities and budget.
At a minimum, all countries have to have a mix of different features on their passports to comply with ICAO’s 3-level security aspect. First, passports must include features to be instantly recognizable to ensure nothing is off – like a hologram. The second instructs that there must be a way for the data to be written into – like a photo that may be invisible to naked eyes. And finally, it has to add some covert features that give the inspectors confidence whether they are inspecting any fake or doubtful passport.
Passport must be machine readable – Passports were made such a way so that they can’t be imitated or tampered. That’s why machine-readability comes into pace. In an attempt to do way with hand-written passports, in 2015, ICAO required that all passports had to include machine-readable features to explain two lines of mysterious code at bottom of the passports’ bio-page. The code incorporates several hidden information and algorithm to let a machine assess legitimacy of a passport and confirm whether it is tampered.
Passports are even smarter – U.S. people have been informed that changes are coming to their passports so they need to renew them early. There is no doubt that in spite of adding different security features, passports counterfeiting couldn’t be eliminated completely. The most crucial change for the passport-holders having an older passport from before 2009 is the inclusion of a chip that contains the information listed in the bio-page and certain biometrics like fingerprints or irises as well. Almost 90% passports have a chip embedded onto them though inclusion of chips hasn’t yet been mandatory by ICAO owing to time and resources constraints.
Despite of adding different high-tech security features, passports are still vulnerable. News of stolen passports can be still heard especially in regards to downed plans and terrorist attacks, and that proves that passports are not 100% secure and protected. It is pertinent to mention that today it’s not about faking passport but about faking identity. Document fraud has shifted to identity fraud. Though many safeguarding measures have been adopted over years, huge amount of work is still to be done.
