E-Passport offers increased security, contrary to media reports, insists Foreign Ministry

[webfact]

E-Passport offers increased security, contrary to media reports, insists Foreign Ministry

By The Nation

 

 

The Foreign Ministry has dismissed an allegation that it has reduced passport security features with its new e-Passport in order to save costs, saying the quality meets a high standard.

 

The Thai passport is accepted worldwide, and has not been rejected by some countries as reported by media, the ministry said on Sunday.

 

The ministry used a “price performance strategy” in the auction-bidding for the new e-passport production, the ministry said in a statement. The winner needed to meet a price per efficiency proportion of 40:60, ensuring that the selection is not necessarily won by the lowest bid. The winner had the highest overall scores between price and efficiency, the statement said.

 

Furthermore, they used an e-bidding strategy, so that bidders could offer the price only one time according to Thai government procurement requirements of the Ministry of Finance. 

 

The Foreign Ministry also said they have always focused on the security qualities of passports, especially for the new e-passports.

 

They have added biometric data such as iris and image perforation using lasers into a contactless integrated circuit inside the e-passports. The original passport had only face and fingerprint data. 

 

Due to these features, the new The passports have advanced security qualities that go beyond the International Civil Aviation Organization standard, ensuring they are difficult to counterfeit.

 

The ministry said it had not downgraded the new passports but merely combined new technologies and existing technologies in order to create the new pattern for passports.

 

The ministry announced in May this year that DGM Consortium Co had won the Bt7.4 billion e-bid to produce 15 million copies of Thai passport over seven years.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30372051

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-07-01

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[DrTuner]

The "e" stands for the chip or just glued on to make it sound all fancy? 

[Katipo]

1 minute ago, DrTuner said:

The "e" stands for the chip or just glued on to make it sound all fancy? 

It has a chip.

[DrTuner]

Just now, Katipo said:

It has a chip.

Did it have the chip before it was "e"? My kids & wife have the chip but not sure if I should write a big "e" on the top with a marker to make it the newest and shiniest.

 

Methinks they slapped the e in the prefix just to have a bidding contest with the appropriate brown envelopes included.

[snoop1130]

New Thai passports may not be secure, claim production bid losers

By The Nation

 

 

The three companies that lost the bid for producing e-passports called on the Foreign Ministry on Monday to reveal exactly which security measure is being adopted to prevent the counterfeiting of passports, because they believe the bid winner will not be able to offer the required technology.

 

Representatives of WIN, TIM and Chanvanitch companies told the press on Monday that DGM Consortium Co, which won the Bt7.4-billion bid in May to produce 15 million Thai passports over seven years, may not be able to make the documents secure. 

 

For instance, DGM may not be able to include image perforation using laser technology as required by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), Manop Kulprakoblarp, representative of WIN group, said.

 

He said that since the Foreign Ministry has lowered its specifications for safety, the new e-passport will not contain biometric data such as iris and image identification technology inserted into a contactless integrated circuit inside.

 

The ministry, however, has dismissed allegations that it has cut down on passport security features in order to save costs, saying the new passports meet the required standards.

 

Thananchai Sae-chua of the Chanvanitch Co, meanwhile, questioned such claims and called on the ministry to disclose details of the security technology being used. 

 

He said there are two kinds of technology used in travel documents: facial images engraved by laser and image perforation using laser technology for making visual facial images. 

 

“We want to know exactly which technology the Foreign Ministry claims the winner has offered that is better than the ICAO requirement to prevent counterfeiting,” said Thanachai, whose company was the previous producer of passports.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30372092

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-07-01

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[ThomasThBKK]

Very entertaining. 

[DrTuner]

I got curious and checked what my Finnish passport has with an app: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nl.innovalor.nfciddocshowcase&hl=en

 

A photo, bunch of data that's also on front page and some other data, probably fingerprints. Don't have the Thai passports handy right now. 

 

EDIT: ok there's the info: 'ICAO compliant identity documents (ePassport, or, in ICAO 9309 terminology, Machine Readable Travel Documents: MRTD). '

 

https://www.icao.int/publications/Documents/9303_p3_cons_en.pdf

 

 

Edited July 1, 2019 by DrTuner

[Phuketshrew]

23 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

“We want to know exactly which technology the Foreign Ministry claims the winner has offered that is better than the ICAO requirement to prevent counterfeiting,”

Does the fattest brown envelope qualify as "technology"?

[Russell17au]

Sounds like poor losers. They will not be able to copy the contract winners technology

[ThomasThBKK]

12 minutes ago, Russell17au said:

Sounds like poor losers. They will not be able to copy the contract winners technology

Rubbish, they who complain are the current manufacturer and have all technology. 

 

Instead of them, and other qualified companies, they used some new company that has no experience it seems. 

 

We can all just guess which kind of people have shares in this new company. 

[webfact]

Best and most secure technology used for e-passports, Foreign Ministry says 

By The Nation

 

The Foreign Ministry has defended its decision to select the best security technology for its new e-passport to prevent counterfeiting, rejecting an allegation of adopting lower standards to save money. 

 

The e-bidding auction was conducted transparently and with accountability to ensure safety, the ministry’s Deputy Permanent Secretary General Thani Thongpakdi said at a press briefing on Monday.

 

The [DGM Consortium] company which won the Bt7.4 billion e-bid to produce 15 million Thai passports over seven years offered the more advanced “window lock” technique, he said.

 

This technique uses lasers to create many layers of images, making it very hard to copy and use to produce fake passports, Thani said, noting that many countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Finland and Switzerland use the same technique for their passports.

 

The ministry has used more advanced techniques than required by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for a long time, he said, adding that the current e-passport with Image Perforation using lasers is already of a higher standard than the ICAO’s requirement.

 

“We don’t reduce specifications to save on costs. On the contrary, we adopt technology that prevents counterfeiting and makes our passport welcome in all countries,” he said.

 

Source: http://www.nationthailand.com/news/30372102

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand  2019-07-02

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[Russell17au]

3 minutes ago, ThomasThBKK said:

Rubbish, they who complain are the current manufacturer and have all technology. 

 

Instead of them, and other qualified companies, they used some new company that has no experience it seems. 

 

We can all just guess which kind of people have shares in this new company. 

It is not only the current manufacturer complaining it is also the other losing bidders complaining so get your facts right before you call my post rubbish. Why should the contract winner show their technology to their opposition for it to be stolen and copied. Contracts change all over the world and new companies win them because they can do a better job at a better price with better technology than the old ones but still the losing companies complain because they lost. This is how the contract industry works around the world. So my comment is not rubbish. The contract winner must abide by the contract. It is the same with the passports in Australia and every other country in the world. You must display that you can supply what is required on the contract.

[hotchilli]

20 hours ago, Katipo said:

It has a chip.

Deep fried !

[DrTuner]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The [DGM Consortium] company which won the Bt7.4 billion e-bid to produce 15 million Thai passports over seven years offered the more advanced “window lock” technique, he said.

 

This technique uses lasers to create many layers of images, making it very hard to copy and use to produce fake passports, Thani said, noting that many countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Finland and Switzerland use the same technique for their passports.

For those who don't know, this 'window' is a transparent ~8x8mm square through the plastic info page with the photo "etched" in it. Also has some sort of tiny diamond squares in it in the Finnish passport. Not sure if anyone ever bothers looking at it.

[Burma Bill]

For reference:-

DGM = Dynamic Global Management, a Thai company based in Bangkok.

[seajae]

well we know who offered  the biggest kick back and why they are being defended dont we, as usual looks like its not the quality but the size of the envelope

 

Edited July 2, 2019 by seajae

[Chazar]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

was conducted transparently and with accountability

bored  with  the  same old  ballcocks

[Ulic]

I am sure each bidder was well aware of the 30% commission fee for the contract and that the passports from each of the companies bidding would have to meet international standards so the playing field (bidding) was level. That said, I would be interested to know what the manufacturing costs are for each passport for western countries requiring a similar number of passports.  Not the costs to the citizens but the cost to the governments.

[Jonmarleesco]

On 7/1/2019 at 3:59 PM, Katipo said:

It has a chip.

Where's the question mark?

[Jonmarleesco]

5 hours ago, seajae said:

well we know who offered  the biggest kick back and why they are being defended dont we, as usual looks like its not the quality but the size of the envelope

 

Or as the old TV series title had it: Never Mind The Quality, Feel The Width.