State Department to improve passport tech.

WASHINGTON, April 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. State Department has said it will improve new passport technology after tests revealed the documents could be vulnerable to identity theft.

Frank Moss, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for passport services, said the agency will include high-tech security features to prevent identity theft, the Washington Post reported Saturday. However, he said the changes could delay plans to start issuing the passports this year.

"We're going to take every step possible to make this passport as secure as we can," Moss said. "I'd rather take more time and do it right than stick to an arbitrary deadline."

The decision followed criticism from privacy groups that had warned the radio frequency identification technology was flawed. Travel groups and European countries, including Germany, also warned of the technology's security vulnerabilities.

Radio-frequency ID devices, or "contactless smart cards," are used in many employee ID cards as well as Washington Metro's SmartTrip cards that are passed over an electronic reader for entry to a building or passage through a turnstile. The passport chips will store information about passport holders, including all passport information and digital photographs enhanced with face-recognition technology.