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Rust problem means ID cards are not so smart

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More and more 'smart' identity cards are becoming dumb.

Rust and other problems may be affecting the performance of the smart chips, causing rejection by automated channels supposed to hurry people through the border.

The Immigration Department said about 28,560 smart identity cards had been reported damaged because of chip failure since 2003. The malfunction rate has more than doubled over the last three years.

Oxidation is believed to be one of the reasons behind the failure of the chip embedded on the smart ID card, which the contractor said could be read and written over 100,000 times and last for 10 years.

Around 0.3 per cent of the 9.52 million smart cards issued - or about 28,560 - have had to be replaced due to chip failure. This rate is higher than the 0.12 per cent revealed in the Legislative Council in January 2008, by which point 9,500 cards had been replaced due to card failure among the 7.7 million cards issued.

Smart card expert Dr Cheng Lee-ming, of City University's electronic engineering department, said: 'The layer of nickel on the chip can be worn out if it gets into contact with acid material, and a small amount of acid can remain on the leather of a wallet.'

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