Sending passport details securely

By December 2010 e-Borders aims to collect details of 95% of passengers. So you will find more tour operators and airlines will want you to submit your passport details at the time of booking or shortly afterwards. That concerns me.

It appears that they will be rolling out the e-Borders system in phase’s through-out 2009 and 2010 and while I have no problems with a system that can track the movements of terrorists, I do have some security issues that I wanted to address.

Email is not secure

The British government do not have the best track record at storing our data securely, but my concern is how consumers are going to have to send their passport details. I’ve heard rumours that some tour operators will want consumers to email their passport information, and I for one, aren’t happy with that.

Email is not the most secure method of transferring information.

Identify fraud on the increase

We all live in a world where identify fraud is on the increase. Only last week I read a news article on a Thomas Cook shop in Dundee where staff information was found in the street. What if a copy of your passport or passport information was left unsecure?

Full roll out of e-Borders by 2010

The data might be secure at the UK Border Agency system my concerns are with the systems that hold our passport information, especially if we are going to receive emails asking us to send them our details or print copies of passports etc.

Maybe I am concerned about something that does not exist, but let’s discuss.