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Passport forgery made easier by desktop technology
KUALA LUMPUR - Desktop technology makes it easier for countries to issue passports, but it is also simpler for high-tech terrorists to come up with forgeries, officials and experts said yesterday.
They urged South-east Asian countries to strengthen controls and warned that terrorists would continue to use increasingly sophisticated methods of passport forgery.
The warning came as the Australian government launched its first training programme at a new US-backed South-east Asian counter- terrorism centre in Kuala Lumpur.
Twenty-four officials from seven South-east Asian countries and Timor Leste are taking part in the four-day programme on 'advanced training in document examination'.
'As technology becomes more sophisticated and terrorists become more knowledgeable, the region's officials too need to equip themselves with the latest information to stay ahead,' said Mr Zainal Abidin Zain, director of the South-east Asian Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT).
Ms Patricia Moss, forensic document examiner with the Australian Department of Immigration, said it was important that immigration officers equipped themselves with knowledge of counterfeit travel documents.
'It is not laxness in the security of the documents, it is the inexperience and lack of knowledge of the airport staff including immigration, inspections and airport check-in,' she told reporters at the start of the conference.
'Desktop technology makes it much easier for the issuing office to issue the passports, but it also makes it easier for the counterfeiters.'
The SEARCCT was established in Kuala Lumpur last year and focuses on capacity-building, human resources development and exchange of information to fight terrorism in the region, where the main threat comes from the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) network.
JI was responsible for the Bali bombings in Indonesia, which killed 202 people, 88 of them Australians, nearly two years ago.
Australia's involvement in SEARCCT is another sign of improved ties with Malaysia since the retirement last year of former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who led resistance to Canberra's attempts to play a role in South-east Asian economic and political forums. -- AFP
KUALA LUMPUR - Desktop technology makes it easier for countries to issue passports, but it is also simpler for high-tech terrorists to come up with forgeries, officials and experts said yesterday.
They urged South-east Asian countries to strengthen controls and warned that terrorists would continue to use increasingly sophisticated methods of passport forgery.
The warning came as the Australian government launched its first training programme at a new US-backed South-east Asian counter- terrorism centre in Kuala Lumpur.
Twenty-four officials from seven South-east Asian countries and Timor Leste are taking part in the four-day programme on 'advanced training in document examination'.
'As technology becomes more sophisticated and terrorists become more knowledgeable, the region's officials too need to equip themselves with the latest information to stay ahead,' said Mr Zainal Abidin Zain, director of the South-east Asian Regional Centre for Counter-Terrorism (SEARCCT).
Ms Patricia Moss, forensic document examiner with the Australian Department of Immigration, said it was important that immigration officers equipped themselves with knowledge of counterfeit travel documents.
'It is not laxness in the security of the documents, it is the inexperience and lack of knowledge of the airport staff including immigration, inspections and airport check-in,' she told reporters at the start of the conference.
'Desktop technology makes it much easier for the issuing office to issue the passports, but it also makes it easier for the counterfeiters.'
The SEARCCT was established in Kuala Lumpur last year and focuses on capacity-building, human resources development and exchange of information to fight terrorism in the region, where the main threat comes from the Al-Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiah (JI) network.
JI was responsible for the Bali bombings in Indonesia, which killed 202 people, 88 of them Australians, nearly two years ago.
Australia's involvement in SEARCCT is another sign of improved ties with Malaysia since the retirement last year of former premier Mahathir Mohamad, who led resistance to Canberra's attempts to play a role in South-east Asian economic and political forums. -- AFP
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