It looks like passports could soon become a thing of the past as new technology could allow us to carry them on our smartphones.
UK company, De La Rue, is working on a solution for that moment of horror we have all felt at some point: “Where the fuck is my passport!?”
A spokesperson for De La Rue told The Telegraph the concept is still in the ‘early stages of development’ but in the future, the digital passports would work just like the digital boarding passes currently in use.
However, it’s still unclear how an individual’s personal details – currently stored on a passport’s electronic chip – would be kept secure on a mobile phone.
According to David Jevans, from security company Proofpoint, digital passports on your phone will require new hardware on the device in order to securely store the electronic passport to prevent it from being copied.
He told The Telegraph:
It will also have to be communicated wirelessly to passport readers, because doing it onscreen like an airline ticket QR code can be copied or spoofed.
To be fair, as often as you think you’ve lost your passport, it’s normally just in your other pocket, or that ‘safe’ compartment in your bag that you instantly forget about.
And anyway, you only really carry your passport with you when you need it, but you have your phone on you all the time.
I think you’re much more likely to lose your phone than your passport. Just saying…
