Polycarbonate Biographical Page
Definition
A laser-engraved PC data page in which holder data and portrait are embedded within the polycarbonate layers rather than printed on the surface, defeating laminate-lifting photo substitution attacks.
- Material
- Polycarbonate layers
- Personalisation method
- Laser engraving
- Standard
- ICAO Doc 9303
- Defeats
- Laminate-lifting photo substitution
Common questions
How does laser engraving resist photo substitution better than printing?+
The portrait and data are burned into the polycarbonate layers themselves rather than sitting under a removable laminate, so lifting or resealing the page no longer gives an attacker a way to swap the photo.
Can a polycarbonate page still be examined for tampering?+
Yes. Examiners look for laser-line irregularities, layer misalignment under UV or side-lighting, and inconsistencies between the engraved data and the document's other security features.
Related terms
- BAC (Basic Access Control)
- The ICAO e-Passport access control mechanism that derives a session key from the MRZ data, requiring the passport to be physically opened...
- Check-Digit Algorithm
- A weighted-sum calculation (weights 7, 3, 1 cycling, modulo 10) over the character values of MRZ fields; used to detect data transcription...
- FADO (False and Authentic Documents Online)
- FRONTEX-managed EU database providing border officers with reference images of both genuine and known fraudulent travel documents from EU and associated states.
- ICAO 9303
- The International Civil Aviation Organization's Machine Readable Travel Documents standard (8th edition, 2021), specifying MRZ field structure, OCR-B font, check-digit algorithm, biometric...
- KINEGRAM
- A diffractive optically variable image device (DOVID) in holographic foil used on passport biographical pages and visa stickers; produced by OVD Kinegram...
- MRZ (Machine-Readable Zone)
- The lower portion of the passport biographical page printed in OCR-B font, structured according to ICAO 9303 TD3 format (two lines of...
- Passive Authentication (PA)
- The ICAO e-Passport mechanism by which a border reader verifies that chip data groups are signed by the issuing state's Document Signer...
- Photo Substitution
- A fraud type in which the original holder's photograph on a genuine document is replaced with the fraudster's image, typically by lifting...
- SLTD Database
- INTERPOL's Stolen and Lost Travel Documents database, containing over 100 million records of passports and identity documents reported stolen or lost by...