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Extended Access Control
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<p>Extended Access Control (EAC) is a set of advanced security features for <a href="/facts/Biometric_passport/DETBFJKx">electronic passports</a> that protects and restricts access to sensitive personal data contained in the <a href="/facts/Radio-frequency_identification/4CnmIV2b">RFID</a> chip. In contrast to common personal data (like the bearer's photograph, names, date of birth, etc.) which can be protected by basic mechanisms, more sensitive data (like <a href="/facts/Fingerprint/5WLcd20T">fingerprints</a> or iris images) must be protected further for preventing unauthorized access and skimming. A chip protected by EAC will allow that this sensitive data is read (through an encrypted channel) only by an authorized passport inspection system. </p><p>EAC was introduced by <a href="/facts/International_Civil_Aviation_Organization/TzrL1mLr">ICAO</a> as an optional security feature (additional to <a href="/facts/Basic_Access_Control/lyeQbWz7">Basic Access Control</a>) for restricting access to sensitive <a href="/facts/Biometrics/MgTbyA0r">biometric</a> data in an electronic <a href="/facts/Machine-readable_passport/osEDTf2E">MRTD</a>. A general idea is given: the chip must contain chip-individual keys, must have processing capabilities and additional key management will be required. However, ICAO leaves the actual solution open to the implementing States. </p><p>There are several different proposed implementations of the mechanism, all of which must retain <a href="/facts/Backward_compatibility/FbHFBu5y">backward-compatibility</a> with the <a href="/facts/Legacy_system/YvYjMcCz">legacy</a> <a href="/facts/Basic_Access_Control/lyeQbWz7">Basic Access Control</a> (BAC), which is mandatory in all <a href="/facts/European_Union/6GYcR8qM">EU</a> countries. The European Commission described that the technology will be used to protect fingerprints in member states' e-passports. The deadline for member states to start issuing fingerprint-enabled e-passports was set to be 28 June 2009. The specification selected for EU e-passports was prepared by the German <a href="/facts/Federal_Office_for_Information_Security/94Qu9BdK">Federal Office for Information Security</a> (BSI) in their technical report TR-03110. Several other countries implement their own EAC. </p>