BSI clarifies necessity of aluminum foil for passport protection

The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) has addressed online claims suggesting that wrapping passports in aluminum foil is necessary to prevent data theft. While some travelers believe foil can shield the embedded chips from unauthorized electromagnetic reading, the BSI states there is no need for such measures.

The agency explains that German passports and identity cards utilize security protocols, specifically Password Authenticated Connection Establishment (PACE), to prevent unauthorized access. While the older Basic Access Control (BAC) is still supported in some older documents for compatibility reasons, both mechanisms are designed to prevent chips from being read remotely, such as through a pocket.

Testing with mobile applications designed to read document chips suggests that while reading is possible at very close range, it requires a stable connection and specific proximity, making a casual 'drive-by' theft of data difficult in practice.