In comparison, the Guardian article says U.K. passports are readable 7.5cm away, a far shorter distance than Robroch's interception, but enough in situations such as public transport, where people are close together, to siphon off the data stored in the RFID chip.

However, Gutmann's worst-case scenario for RFIDs in passports occurs not when they're being compromised for counterfeiting purposes, but are used to identify the holder. The RFID chip could be used to trigger explosive charges and Gutmann points to a study that shows the current U.S. passport design caused a small, non-lethal explosive charge concealed in a rubbish tin to detonate.

Terrorists could then target specific nationalities automatically, says Gutmann.