E-Passports: Everything You Need to Know
Security around national borders has always been a major concern for authorities. The new era of facial and fingerprint recognition is emerging as a prominent solution. It reduces the risk of identity theft and chances of illegal entry into the nation. Around 120 countries, including the USA, UK, Germany, have deployed e-passports to strengthen their security system. Get yourself a passport as soon as possible apply on Documentuniverse.
How do E-passports work?
As the name suggests, e-passports contain chips or tags that carry the biometric data of the authorized person. The data includes the digital signature and photograph of the passport holder.
How can you use your e-passport?
E-passport enables hassle-free travel for visitors. A user does not have to attend counters to get identified. E-passport holders can get themselves verified within seconds at the automatic border control gates, and the scanner will do the rest of the work.
E-passport holders have to place their biometric passports on the scanner. The scanner will scan the integrated chip and verify the information by comparing it with the saved data on the server.
On authentication, the user will have to look into the available camera. The camera compares the information with the data saved on the integrated chip. Once the picture is verified, the border control door opens automatically.
Why are the benefits of Biometric Passports?
The new era of digitalization has been beneficial in many ways. Biometric devices are deployed all around the world to enhance the security of the person and the place. E-passports offer various such benefits.
Safety: Growing security concerns is the primary factor increasing the adoption of e-passport. The data on the chip is difficult to be captured and steal. In addition, the highest scanning range of e-passport is 10cm. Thus, it ensures the safety of the consumers.
E-passports are enabled with chips working on Public-Key Infrastructure (PKI). PKI ensures the security of the electronic information shared between two parties.
Convenience: Digitalization is all about convenience, and biometric passport users have experienced it all. Through an e-passport, the user can travel through gates by scanning the data within minutes. Moreover, the adoption of e-passport cut down the hassles of traditional methods.
Crime investigation: Biometric evidence help collect precise data about the citizen. Thus, it helps police and other government bodies in crime investigation. Moreover, if the e-passport has been stolen or lost, the user can easily confirm the data through the database.
Disadvantages of E-Passports
Just like two sides of the coin, there are always cons on the other side of the pros. E-passports are gaining rapid popularity around the globe. It is considered an efficient way to curb identity theft. However, the chip information can lead to identity theft and fraudulent activities.
Privacy Concern: Privacy is a primary concern related to the use of e-passports. The ePassport is enabled with the chip containing data about the owner. On losing the ePassport, these security concerns increase.
The increasing use of biometric authentication systems such as facial recognition technology and other biometric security measures will exacerbate the demand for security.
Biometrics are translated to data and stored in locations or countries with extensive surveillance. Privacy problems, on the other hand, are always present. Many corporations and governments have utilized facial recognition software to identify people with such accuracy that privacy has been severely compromised. Biometric data can become a permanent digital tag that can be used to follow someone with or without their knowledge as surveillance grows.
Costs: The increasing progress necessitates a large financial expenditure. A high-tech passport security system would cost a lot of money.
Furthermore, any technology advancement entails a data security risk. Hackers have a high possibility of gaining access to data collected by businesses and governments.
Because biometric data is important and irreplaceable, businesses must maintain a high-security system to prevent identity theft. However, offering such security would necessitate huge costs and ongoing updates.
Technical Problems: Technical problems go hand in hand with digitalization. Recently, UK airports witnessed technical issues in the service passport gates, which caused delays and additional hassle for the staff. Thus, the problems related to technical glitches may act as a significant obstacle for travelers.
How Popular are E-Passports?
Around 120 countries have introduced biometric passports to ban illegal entries and enhance security. Slovakia began issuing e-passports in 2008. Moreover, Peru uses biometric passport technology to combat identity theft.
Rome and Naples have issued e-passports with facial recognition facilities to enable a rapid border control process.
Bangladesh has announced the establishment of e-passport infrastructure, while Pakistan is expected to introduce e-passport services from 2022. Moreover, China government has been issuing e-passport since 2012.
Recently, Nepal started issuing e-passports after a delay of years.
Israel has also employed biometric identification technologies for travelers. In 2017, the country revised its passport policy, making it mandatory for all citizens to use a biometric passport and ID.
Saudi Arabia is likely to introduce electronic passports soon, as per the news reports. Indians are also forecast to get e-passports soon as countries made headlines in the past.
Smart borders and smart airports are growing at a faster rate.
They pave the way for a wide convenience with the variety of automated, self-service airport conveniences for travelers.
Growth of the Global E-Passport Market
Due to trending digitalization across all verticals, the e-passport industry is forecast to grow significantly.
According to Astute Analytica, the global e-passport market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% during the forecast period from 2021 to 2027.
The growth of the industry is attributed to various key factors, such as rising demand to acknowledge identity theft, increasing number of cross-border travelers, and growing IT investments in various regions.
As a result, prominent companies like ASK Media Group LLC, Cardlogix Corporation, Eastcompeace Technology Co, Ltd, Entrust Corporation, and Hid Global Corporation are forecast to get favorable opportunities during the study period. In addition, North America and Europe are forecast to hold the largest share in the market during the study period, majorly due to growing digitalization and increasing IT investments in Germany, Spain, Canada, and France.
