The machines are being activated in Buffalo today machines in Blaine and Nogales are in use the rest will be on line over the next couple of months. as part of the government’s requirement that anyone who crosses the border must show a passport or other government documents proving citizenship and identity. Machines are in place at five crossings - Blaine, Wash. The cards “are quite vulnerable” to being cloned or having their codes broken. “There’s this strange rush to a fancy or shiny new technology,” says Lee Tien of the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Privacy advocates say the technology could make Americans less secure because terrorists or other criminals may be able to steal the personal information off the ID cards remotely. The Homeland Security Department says the new practice will tighten security and speed the flow of traffic. Agents along the Canada and Mexico borders are using a controversial new machine that can “read” the personal information contained in some government-issued ID cards - such as passports and driver’s licenses - as travelers approach a checkpoint.
