OK, I must acknowledge that my repeated references to the RFID blocking passport wallet on offer from ThinkGeek.com here and here have been a bit tongue-in-cheek, though I love the site and its humorous product descriptions.
I figured that if there was a real danger that the information was insecure, the designers of the passport could and would take countermeasures, perhaps by integrating a stainless steel wire mesh into the covers of the document itself, making it readable only when the booklet is opened (this could make the document more durable, too).
Alternatively, I thought a that criminal operation that relied upon waving an RFID reader a few centimeters from where an individual carries their passport would face labor costs that couldn't be justified by the benefits of collecting the data the first place.
If this article is accurate, I'm not so sure this isn't something people should at least be aware of. The apparatus described in the article is like moving from rod-and-reel fishing, to using drag-nets, with the commensurate efficiency gains.
