This is important 'cause the greater the read distance in say, the line at airport immigration control, the greater the chance of abuse.

ENGADGET: Dutch RFID e-passport cracked -- US next?

It's still not clear at what distance the exchange was intercepted -- while the passive ISO 14443 tag is spec'd with a read distance of only 2-milimeters you'll find claims of reads at several meters.

ENGADGET: Dutch RFID e-passport cracked -- US next?

When we sat down to eat he either read the paper or gazed into the distance.

NEWYORKER: Naima