surely carrying it in a foil bag would stop 'intruders'?
That's fine for when it is not needed. However, try to picture how many times your open passport is required when traveling abroad and as the article states, imagine the ease - (virtual child's play -script kiddies) - with which one could upload/clone/distribute your/our/my data at each turn.
There is a reasonable solution to this issue - it is so easy that it could be nearly impossible to enact.
Have the RFID chip indicate when it is being read. Anyone care to vote
yes on this idea ?
Right.