Comment Re:the idiocies of religions are only matched (Score 1) 247
In the words of US diplomat Dan Fried: nationalism is like cheap alcohol - first it makes you drunk, then it makes you blind, then it kills you.
In the words of US diplomat Dan Fried: nationalism is like cheap alcohol - first it makes you drunk, then it makes you blind, then it kills you.
Mobile networks are actually pretty robust, and the standards and protocols are indeed open (GSM/UMTS, OMA).
Nevertheless, mobile phones are usually sold as locked black boxes because:
1. Government regulations require that equipment must not be able to use frequencies other than those they are licensed to;
2. The same regulations require that transmit power be limited to a safe level; and
3. Mobile carriers want to be able to enact anti-competitive measures (SIM locking) and/or screw consumers (disabling software features).
It's absolutely worth noting this is about cloning US Passport Cards, which are completely useless outside the US, not real passports.
Passport Cards use a simple RFID system (EPC) where the chip simply spits its ID number out.
Passports, on the other hand, require a reader to authenticate by passing a hash of (passport number, date of birth, date of expiry). I don't think that's nearly enough information to ensure security, but at least it's better than nothing.
People will buy anything that's one to a customer.