You know that chip in your passport? Yeah, it's useless

PLUS: The thrill of 'Annihilation,' a blockchain-based alternative to Mechanical Turk, and a budget smartphone that might be too good to be true. [View this email in your browser]( [logo]( [[WIRED Magazine]2.23.18]( In 2006, US passports got a security upgrade. They started coming equipped with RFID chips that contained travelers' personal and biometric information, as well as a cryptographic signature meant to prevent alterations or forgery. But it turns out that [those e-Passports aren't so secure]( after all. As [Lily Hay Newman]( reports, US Customs and Border Protection never actually got the software tools to verify those cryptographic signatures and detect instances of tampering. Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Claire McCaskill of Missouri called out the problem Thursday in a letter to CBP. They noted a key contradiction: Although the US requires all countries in its Visa Waiver program to issue e-Passports, and has promoted their use across the globe, it doesn't actually have the technology needed to ensure those e-Passports are legit. "It’s reasonable to guess that most passport officers go by what’s on their screen, because it’s electronic and supposedly trustworthy," says Matthew Green, a cryptographer at Johns Hopkins University. "So you could do anything from forging the expiration date of a passport to completely changing all the data, including picture, that the passport officer looks at. If they don’t double check the paper version they wouldn’t notice." Also: The trippy, surrealist [wonder of Annihilation]( an attempt to rehabilitate the gig economy [using blockchain technology]( and a $200 smartphone that might be [too good to be true](. border security US Border Patrol Hasn’t Been Validating E-Passport Data By Lily Hay Newman For over a decade, US Customs and Border Protection has been unable to verify the cryptographic signatures on e-Passports, because they never installed the right software. movies Annihilation Is a Thrilling, Terrifying Surrealist Trip By Jason Kehe Alex Garland’s adaptation is as monstrous as it is masterful—even more soul-shaking than the original. Gig Economy This Startup Is Challenging Mechanical Turk—on the Blockchain By Miranda Katz Amazon's Mechanical Turk dominates the market for on-demand microtasks. Gems is using cryptocurrency to appeal to workers and task-requesters. This item has no URL. It's probably not published. Product Review You Get What You Pay For With Honor’s Newest Smartphone By Jeffrey Van Camp If the $200 Honor 7X seems too good to be true, that’s because it kinda is. [advertisement]( [Powered by LiveIntent]( [Ad Choices]( [WIRED Magazine Subscription] Get Wired The future is already here. Try 3 months of WIRED free. START YOUR TRIAL. hardwired Inside the Dome That Could Give Robots Super-Senses By Matt Simon In a chilly basement room sits a giant dome that looks like part physics experiment and part like that chamber Darth Vader kicks back in. App Pack Amp Up Your Attitude With These Four Affirmation Apps By Josie Colt These positive affirmation apps help you build a positive mindset simply by opening a push alert. ideas Why We Can’t Let Google Monopolize AI By Robert Wright We should start thinking now about how to build an antitrust regime that will preserve several companies’ robust AI assistants. Snow Patrol Inside the Command Center Keeping the Winter Olympics Safe By Eric Adams In a windowless room in Seoul, dozens of security experts train—and watch—for the worst. movies Why Lighting and Makeup Were Black Panther's Secret Weapons By Ahalya Srikant All the filmmaking firepower in the world wouldn't make up for skin that didn’t look quite right in the light of the Wakandan sun. [advertisement]( [Powered by LiveIntent]( [AdChoices]( [WIRED Magazine]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Pinterest]( [Youtube]( [Instagram]( This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, [wired@newsletters.wired.com]( to your address book. View our [Privacy Policy]( [Unsubscribe]( Copyright © Condé Nast 2018. One World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007. All rights reserved.