Ticket security tight for Olympic ceremonies

One fan of the system is Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, who attended a World Cup game in Dortmund two years ago and is confident Beijing's technology is better.

"We're fully prepared and we are confident we can overcome all the difficulties," Wan said.

Clarke, the Australian security expert, said inaccurate data, ticket holders mixing up tickets and the possibility for identity theft were likely.

"If somebody is handing out six tickets to six people, they somehow have to shuffle these tickets successfully to get the right ticket in the right hands," Clarke said. "If they fail and then people are separated in the queue, we'll get enormous delays at the gates."

The International Olympic Committee has said it is comfortable with Beijing's ticketing security. IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau said the RFID technology was "tested thoroughly by BOCOG this summer and satisfied both BOCOG and the IOC that the technology is sound."

Xu Chaoying, one of China's leading experts in RFID, is the general manager of Beijing Dalang Telecom Co. Ltd., which lost in a bid for the Olympic RFID contract. Xu called RFID "mature technology" and discounted the comparison to Germany.

"For the 2006 World Cup, I think the main problem was about privacy," Xu said. "People doubted whether the data in the tickets would be completely deleted. But as for the technology, there shouldn't be any problem."

Xu said it was possible the wireless technology could be disrupted, but he said any problems would be easy to fix.

Clarke disputed this. He said if Chinese officials choose to use a rudimentary RFID system, it would expose the data to easy theft. A more secure system using encrypted data would add complexity and more possibilities for chaos at the gate.

He said the high-tech ticket might also distract from procedures like frisks and bag checks, both more likely to uncover contraband entering the stadium.

"There's always a risk when you start putting efforts into an inappropriate mechanism that you deflect resources away from the important ones," Clarke said. "You reduce your effectiveness in finding flags and bombs and weapons because you've got too many people spending too much time worrying about other things."

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