Tests show e-passports can be cloned in minutes

My Account
Logout

Create an Evening Standard Account

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Welcome! Sign in here

Use your social network

Save time by using your existing account to sign in to Evening Standard

We'll never share your information or post anything to your account without your permission

Forgot your password ?

Registration

* indicates fields that are mandatory

Email *

Password *

Confirm Password *

First name *

Surname *

Postcode *

Country *

Mobile phone number

Username *

Gender *

Year of birth *

When you sign up...

You will have access to all our online competitions, discounted offers and can post comments on our site.

You will also receive The Weekender newsletter sent every Thursday - it’s full of fantastic offers and ideas for the weekend. You can update your email preferences in your account page when you log in.

Other newsletters and emails

Homes & Property Newsletter - Yes I want to receive the weekly email with all the latest news on property in the capital

Occasionally we would also like to send you relevant emails detailing specific offers either from ourselves or carefully selected partners. If you would prefer not to receive these then please tick the appropriate boxes below. We will never pass on your details.

I do not want to receive additional offers and information from the Evening Standard

I do not want to receive additional offers and information sent by Evening Standard on behalf of carefully selected partners

Terms and Conditions

* I have read, understood and agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of Evening Standard

Registration

Mail Sent for Registration Confirmation.

A confirmation email has been sent. Please activate your account by clicking on the activation link sent in your mail box.

The chips, which are implanted inside the document and must be scanned by a passport reader before the holder can travel, have serious security flaws.

In an e-passport test, computer researcher Jeroen van Beek cloned the chips on two British passports, implanting a digital image of Osama bin Laden on to that of a baby boy and a suicide bomber on to a picture of a 36-year-old woman.

Bogus details were inserted into fake passport papers to back up the chips, which were then accepted by software used by the UN body that sets standards for the documents.

The flaws mean terrorists could use faked chips to travel undetected.

They also undermine claims that 3,000 blank passports stolen last week were worthless.

The Home Office has argued that cloned microchips would be spotted at border checkpoints because they would not match key codes when checked against an international database.

But the system will be fully secure only when every e-passport nation has joined - 10 of the 45 countries with e-passports have signed up to the Public Key Directory code system and five are using it. Mr van Beek said: "We are not claiming that terrorists are able to do this to all passports today or that they will be able to do it tomorrow. But it does raise concerns over security that need to be addressed."

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve added: "It is of deep concern that the technology underpinning a key part of the UK's security can be compromised so easily."