SEATTLE -- Technology to help you get across the border faster could also put your identity at risk and let the wrong person into the country.

The risk, which was discovered by a group of researchers at the University of Washington, now has the Department of Homeland Security on the defense.

New border crossing cards are designed to allow people to cross the border more quickly while also preserving ironclad security.

But it took UW graduate student Karl Koscher less than a second to copy a U.S. border-crossing card with KOMO News looking on, "within 10 milliseconds," to be exact.

Using an off-the-shelf version of what the U.S. Border Patrol uses, Koscher waved the card once in front of an electronic reader and he was done.

In such a way Koscher can make a fake border crossing card which, in this case, consisted of two pieces of paper with a 10-cent radio chip stuck in the middle.

"This is commercially available right now," Koscher said of the technology he used.

Koscher can fake both a U.S. Passport card as well as Washington state's new enhanced driver's license this way. And, he said, if he can do it that easily, so can anyone else.

"Just one read and you'll be able to clone a card," he said.

The cards are designed to ease border congestion by transmitting a signal as the bearer drives up to a border crossing. But Koscher and his team at the UW say the technology is flawed.

Even if you stuff your border crossing card in your pocket and out of sight, Koscher can read it from up to 30 feet away using his $2,000 equipment.

The card system is scheduled to be put into use next year. When asked whether any changes will be made to eliminate these security concerns before the system goes into effect, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security said yes, in a sense.

The department plans to staff each border crossing with additional agents who will be trained to recognize counterfeit documents. It is also considering adding a few additional security features to the card.

The plan doesn't satisfy Kosher, who is convinced at least one agent will forget to check at least one person's card at least once down the line, allowing at least one person to cross the border using someone else's identity.

This flaw also exists with new radio-enabled driver's licenses used by five border states, including Washington.

The state Department of Licensing said it is looking into the matter.