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Technology Exploration Project – M591

Passports and Barcodes

Passports and Barcodes
(Article title barcoded using GS1-128 Symbology)


What is an identity?


Identities and identification methods come in all shapes and sizes. From something as simple as a name or number combination, to complexities such as storing biometric information within a small chip on a card, identification is an essential method that allows us to tell each other, or certain objects, apart. Some methods of identification may be more beneficial in certain situations than others, but for many, a string of numbers or letters is an ample way to tell two different entities apart. The aim of this article is to compare several points about two widely used methods of identification; the barcode and passports. Barcodes, used in all stretches of the retail industry, are printed onto products and they are read by machines designed to determine the difference between the lines (black and white) which denote a binary code of '1's and '0's. The binary code spells out a number which is associated with the product, and from this number, the product is identified, and its price and other attributes are returned to the machine. The most commonly used type of barcode is the black and white striping, but there are several different types, including barcodes using concentric circles, a square of dots and text hidden within images. The second method, passports, is used to monitor and control international travel. They are issued by the national government in the country that the passport holder is a citizen of. It is seen as a "request" to enter or exit a different country, and the layout and information stored on them is governed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

The different attributes used for identification


For something to be identifiable or authenticated, it must have attributes that either on their own, or when combined with others, make the object or person we are trying to identify uniquely identifiable. To do this, the barcodes we know and use regularly (those on retail products) are typically made up of two things; a prefix that identifies the company it came from and a suffix (of varying length) that identifies the product itself (GS1 Barcodes and RFID Standards in the UK, n.d.). This combination, although quite limited, allows for a multitude of unique identities to determine what the product is. When comparing the attributes of barcodes to those of passports, barcodes seem extremely simplistic. Passports house a number of different attributes that help to identify the holder. The attributes are each insufficient on their own to uniquely identify a person (with the exception of the main identifier, the passport number), but when combined they form a a powerful and accurate method of identification. The two attributes of the barcode are each individually strong in their own right (within certain bounds of allocation), whereas the attributes on a passport cannot be used individually to identify the claimant, but make a strong identifier when combined.

The methods used to identify the claim


There are several methods to authenticate claims to the verifier, however some are not quite as explicit as you would think. Barcodes use two methods to authenticate the claim. The main, and most obvious one, is the checksum present at the end of every barcode (Barcodes, n.d.). This works in the same way as checksums carried out on binary data, because essentially, that is what a barcode is. It takes the information stored within the barcode (for example product producer and product identifier) and performs an algorithm on the data to ultimately produce a number or character set that can be used when the barcode is scanned to check against the data. If the data and checksum do not match, the data contained within the barcode is deemed incorrect, and therefore cannot be used. The other, more implicit method that barcodes use for verification is the fact that they exist on the product. This may seem trivial, but the pure presence of the barcode on the product helps to verify that it is what it claims it is, and although it is not conclusive, it helps towards the end goal of verifying the product. There may be some cases where the barcode is incorrectly printed on another item, this would be an example of incorrect verification, as the barcode will still scan through, even though it is the wrong product. To verify passports, there is what seems to be a jumble of numbers and letters at the bottom, separated by numerous "<" characters. These numbers and the combination they are in verify that the passport and its attributes are authentic. When the passport is read, the information is split out into its separate attributes to compare with the actual document, and the passport number is checked to verify that the passport number is valid. Also, the possession of the passport is a form of authentication, however, as with the barcode, it is not conclusive evidence that the claim is valid due to the fact that the bearer may have acquired the passport from its owner and be using it to fraudulently travel under the false identity. New methods of authentication are being developed and implemented across the world. Currently, biometric data is being stored on newly issued passports to further verify that the person holding the passport is who they say they are (Passports, n.d.). The biometric information stores things such as fingerprints and iris scan information.

History of the Passport and the Barcode


Barcodes were first invented in 1948 by three graduate university students from Drexel Institute of Technology, Jordin Johanson, Bernard Silver and Norman Joseph Woodland (Scanning the Globe, May 2004)(Barcodes, n.d.). The system that these students invented was adapted for the commercial market by two engineers named Raymond Alexander and Frank Stietz who used the system to identify railroad cars. They came into their first commercial use in 1966, but didn't become overly commercially successful until the early 1980s. The complexity of the barcodes has increased over time, with new symology standards being introduced, allowing the full ASCII character set and many more to be used within the barcode. Also, developments of the linear (also known as 1D) barcode lead to it being made into a matrix code (also known as 2D, a grid of square "cells") allowing significant space savings while still retaining the same amount of information, even exceeding it! Here are some examples of 1d and 2d barcodes:

1 and 2 D barcodes
(Barcodes, from left to right: 1D Code 93, 1D UPC-A, 2D RM4SCC, 2D MatrixCode)(Free Online Barcode Generator, n.d.)


Passports, however, have been around for a much greater amount of time. The earliest know reference to a passport can be found in a 450 B.C. version of the biblical book of Nehemiah. Nehemiah, an official serving King Artaxerxes of ancient Persia, asked permission to travel to Judah. The King agreed and gave Nehemiah a letter "to the governors beyond the river" requesting safe passage for him as he travelled through their lands (Passport Canada: History of Passports, May 2006). The term that we know these documents by today, 'passport', is considered to originate from medieval documents that were required to pass through the gates of the city walls (known as 'porte') (Passports, n.d.). Early passports quite often contained a description of the person holding the passport document. It was not until the early 20th century, when photography became cheaper and much more widely used, that photographs of the bearer were attached to the documents. After the world wars, the ICAO issued guidelines to standardise the layout and information content of passports, leading to the information we currently know as being on passports. Recently, further technology advances have allowed things such as biometric information to be carried within the passport, this is intended to increase the security of passports and the identities held on them.

Which user groups benefit most from each method of identification?


There are several different groups that benefit from the barcode method of identification, most notably, companies that produce on a mass scale, and retailers. Mass production companies can barcode certain types of items to classify and identify them from the other products they produce. This benefits them by significantly improving the efficiency of production and the transportation of their products. The retail industry was significantly overhauled by the introduction of the barcode. It helped greatly to keep track of the increasingly larger number of items that stores stocked, and helped to reduce shoplifting since shoplifters were no longer able to switch price tags between low and high cost items. It also allowed significant savings in stock taking and records of popular items. This also benefited the next group that use barcodes; the consumer. Modern day consumers take barcodes for granted, not realising the amount of savings that are passed on to them through the supply chain. With the savings made by barcodes, retailers can significantly reduce costs, benefiting the consumer greatly. With passports, there are two main beneficiaries. The most significant one is at airports and border control. Border controls require that the traveler presents a passports as proof of identification and to track where the passport holder has been on recent travels. This allows for swift processing of the holder, rather than manually checking against a database, the information is present on the passport, and the code at the bottom can be scanned to automatically input and search for the passport information. The other main beneficiary of passports is the national government. By using the passports and passport applications, the national government can keep track of immigration and emigration within the country. It also benefits them by allowing them to keep additional records about the holder. A smaller group that benefits from passports to a lesser degree is the group of the passport holders themselves. It allows them swift passage between countries, and also has the smaller benefit of the fact that passports can be used for secondary purposes. The passport is considered a valid proof of age and identity world wide, with a passport, you can prove that you are old enough to drink alcohol, drive a car in that country and also use it as assurance that you are who you say you are.

The known and potential effect of collection of personal data for Passports and Barcodes


For barcodes, this section is rather short. Unless barcodes will be used in the future for storing personal information about people, no personal information is collected for them, and therefore the effect of personal data does not apply to the barcode. If, however, personal information was gathered for use in a barcode, it would be slightly more secure than data stored on a form for example. The information on a barcode is not plainly visible, and if (for example) the data is intercepted or viewed without authorisation (unless the interceptor has knowledge of the barcode type used or a barcode reader for that type of barcode) it is not plainly obvious what information the barcode contains. Passports however require a significant amount of personal data to be collected. The application for passports require you to provide substantial evidence that you are the person you claim to be. This may include sending a birth certificate, or a household bill addressed to you personally, or many other types of verification. The data stored on a passport is also visible to all who may catch a glimpse of the passport, even in passing. This brings about concern of identity theft, and if the information on a passport is obtained without the holder's knowledge, it may be replicated or used fraudulently.

Conclusion


In conclusion of this article, barcodes and passports are similar in that they share properties of identification, but worlds apart in the amount and type of data stored on them. Barcodes could be used in environments where security of the data is not a critical need, such as with logistics companies. In the context of a logistics company, a barcode would be assigned to goods being transferred between two end points, and the security of the data in the barcode is not critical to the transportation of the goods. If the barcode number of the goods is discovered, it doesn't necessarily put the goods at risk from fraud or theft. Barcodes are an excellent way of keeping track of items in transit, on a shop floor or warehouse and even for uniquely identifying objects to distinguish them from others. Passports, on the other hand, are much more secure form of identification. This is because the number of attributes housed on the passport, and the hidden attributes associated with it, are greater and more specific to the holder of the passport. The more identification attributes satisfied, the greater the chance of the claim being valid. However, passports more openly display their information content, and it can be quite easy to obtain this information, barcodes do not have quite as big a problem with this. The addition of biometric information to passports has increased the number of attributes to satisfy, and therefore increased the security of the passport. Although there are still some concerns about the security of the biometric information, and the transfer of the information from passport to reader, it is seen as a more secure method of authorising passports (The ID Chip You Don't Want in Your Passport, September 2006).


References



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