rfid

Showing posts with label rfid. Show all posts

Not for me, thanks: Under-the-skin ID chips move toward U.S. hospitals

File this under "c" for creepy:

Under-the-skin ID chips move toward U.S. hospitals - News - ZDNet:
"VeriChip, the company that makes radio frequency identification--RFID--tags for humans, has moved one step closer to getting its technology into hospitals.
The Federal Drug Administration issued a ruling Tuesday that essentially begins a final review process that will determine whether hospitals can use RFID systems from the Palm Beach, Fla.-based company to identify patients and/or permit relevant hospital staff to access medical records, said Angela Fulcher, vice president of marketing and sales at VeriChip.
VeriChip sells 11-millimeter RFID tags that get implanted in the fatty tissue below the right tricep. When near one of Verichip's scanners, the chip wakes up and radios an ID number to the scanner. If the number matches an ID number in a database, a person with the chip under his or her skin can enter a secured room or complete a financial transaction."

Full text is available here ...

Article: They've got your number

Today's Montreal Gazette has a good and long article discussing privacy issues, from black boxes in vehicles to RFID technology:

They've got your number: Cutting-edge technologies work as tattle-tales for a surveillance-minded state, Canadian privacy advocates warn:
"RFIDs, like other technology, can be misused, Stoddart says. If it is used to track people or if it transmits personal information, those practices would come under applicable provincial and federal legislation, she says.
People have to be notified that RFIDs are attached to products they may buy, allowing them to refuse them or disable them so they don't collect or transmit personal information.
'What concerns me most is the fact that if we don't act fairly soon to have a public debate, a public awareness and discussion of (RFIDs and other potential invasive technologies), they may soon become ubiquitous and then lower our general societal expectation of privacy at a time when, due to the international situation, we already have great pressures on privacy,' Stoddart says.
Her office is in the process of designing a public education program on privacy issues that may be launched this winter."

Full text here ... (beware, Canada.com expires their content pretty quickly).

Article: The Trouble with RFID

Another good article on RFID, this time by Simson L. Garfinkel writing for the Nation:

The Trouble with RFID | Posted February 3, 2004

by Simson L. Garfinkel

RFID is such a potentially dangerous technology because RFID chips can be embedded into products and clothing and covertly read without our knowledge. A small tag embedded into the heel of a shoe or the inseam of a leather jacket for inventory control could be activated every time the customer entered or left the store where the item was bought; that tag could also be read by any other business or government agency that has installed a compatible reader. Unlike today's antitheft tags, every RFID chip has a unique serial number. This means that stores could track each customer's comings and goings. Those readers could also register the RFID tags that we're already carrying in our car keys and the "prox cards" that some office buildings use instead of keys.

The problem here is that RFID tags can be read through your wallet, handbag, or clothing. It's not hard to build a system that automatically reads the proximity cards, the keychain RFID "immobilizer" chips, or other RFID-enabled devices of every person who enters a store. A store could build a list of every window shopper or person who walks through the front door by reading these tags and then looking up their owners' identities in a centralized database. No such database exists today, but one could easily be built.

Indeed, such warnings might once have been dismissed as mere fear-mongering. But in today's post-9/11 world, in which the US government has already announced its plans to fingerprint and photograph foreign visitors to our country, RFID sounds like a technology that could easily be seized upon by the Homeland Security Department in the so-called "war on terrorism." But such a system wouldn't just track suspected Al Qaeda terrorists: it would necessarily track everybody--at least potentially.

Article: Think outside tech box to make 'experiences'

This is more than a little creepy if the company involved doesn't tell customers that their presence will be announced by RFID-laden loyalty cards (thanks to "Slashdot | RFID for the Rich" for the link):

The Globe and Mail: "If you're a frequent Prada shopper, the loyalty card in your wallet or purse contains a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag that announces your arrival in the store. When you encounter a saleswoman, her handheld computer brings up your tastes, buying history, vital statistics and personalized suggestions from in-stock and coming inventory; the handhelds also place orders and book change rooms. Every item for sale bears an RFID tag. The tag certifies the authenticity for Prada's pricey togs -- and discourages theft (setting off alarms) and counterfeiters (it's nearly impossible to copy)."

But, on the other hand, if there is knowledge and consent, this may be a great convenience for customers and the salespeople alike. ... It's all about knowledge and consent.

Article: RFID-Privacy Law Debated in California

OK, not quite "Canadian Privacy Law", but interesting nevertheless: Yahoo! News - RFID-Privacy Law Debated: "Before radio-frequency identification technology has arrived, it risks being regulated. California state Sen. Debra Bowen plans to introduce legislation this month to restrict the retail use of RFID tags. "

Article: Is RFID Technology Easy to Foil?

From Wired News: Is RFID Technology Easy to Foil?:

"CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- You may need to read the following sentence twice: Aluminum foil hats will block the signals emitted by the radio tags that will replace bar-code labels on consumer goods.

That is, of course, if you place your tin-foil hat between the radio tag and the device trying to read its signal. "

Article: Microsoft, IBM, Philips to back RFID tracking technology

IDG.com.sg - Microsoft, IBM, Philips to back RFID tracking technology:

"'2004 is going to be a real crazy year for RFID,' said Evelien Vredeveld, IBM's worldwide RFID leader. 'Last year there was a lot of concern about privacy issues with RFID but this year, I think consumers will begin to learn the many benefits of the technology.' For example, if a product with the RFID tag breaks and needs to be returned to the store, the consumer won't need a receipt as all of that information will be part of the tag's data. "

Article: ZDNet UK - Does your data belong to you?

ZDNet UK - Comment - Does your data belong to you? - ZDNet in the UK has a general commentary piece that includes the Privacy Commissioner of Australia's view of retail use of RFID:

Malcolm Crompton, Australia's Privacy Commissioner, told ZDNet Australia's James Pearce that if incorrectly implemented, RFID could be a big problem.

It's a post-sale concern -- the use of these tags along the supply chain to point of sale wasn't the issue. It's what happens after that, said Crompton. Although he conceded that RFID technology was not inherently bad, he said that individuals and companies in the United States considering collecting data after the point of sale was a cause for concern.

But the Commissioner is confident that the Privacy Act does provide a stable framework for deploying RFID technology.

Release: "Privacy guidelines" for deployment of RFID technology adopted by Grocers Assoc

U.S. Newswire - Food and CPG Industry Leaders Endorse Privacy Guidelines for New Technology: It appears that the EPC Network, the Grocery Manufactureres of America and the Food Marketing Institute have come up with some privacy-protecting guidelines for the adoption of RFID technology (referred to as the "Electronic Product Code" or EPC) in retail grocery stores. I haven't found the code itself online, but the highlights are in the following press release:

"WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The boards of directors of the Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMI) today endorsed guidelines designed for use by companies engaged in the large-scale deployment of Electronic Product Code (EPC). The principles will help ensure that consumers' privacy rights are protected as EPC is implemented over the next several years. "

Article: A grocery store that practically reads your mind

St. Petersburg Times: A grocery store that practically reads your mind:

"One big impediment until now has been Big Brother privacy fears. Critics say the chip attached to a package of Gillete Mach III razors could keep beaming its location all the way to the buyer's home, paired with his name and address that's in the store's computer database. And the chip attached to a coat or jacket even could be tracked to reveal the user's visits to a bank, a shopping mall or a strip club. But proponents say that's not a likely scenario because the establishment would have to be equipped with RFID antennas to pick up the signal.

Still, to assuage such privacy fears, Metro added an extra computer terminal at the store exit. Shoppers can de-activate the chip inside each product one at a time if they don't want their purchases tracked beyond the store's exit."

Article: Casino chips to carry RFID tags

New Scientist: Casino chips to carry RFID tags

When rumours surfaced in 2003 that the European Central Bank was quietly planning to put RFID (radio frequency identification) tags in euro banknotes to combat fraud and money laundering, privacy groups balked at the possibility that anybody with an RFID reader could count the money in wallets of passers by.

While the rumours have not been confirmed or denied a new generation of casino chips with built-in RFID tags is giving an insight into the way banks and shops could keep track of real money if it were tagged. The chips will be launched later in 2004 and will allow casino operators to spot counterfeits and thefts, and also to monitor the behaviour of gamblers.

RFID tags are tiny silicon chips that broadcast a unique identification code when prompted by a reader device. The tags do not need batteries, since they simply modify the radio signal fired at them by the reader. The readers work over distances ranging from a few centimetres to a few dozen metres, depending on the type of tag.

Counterfeit chips have long been a problem for casinos, and houses routinely mark their chips with inks visible only in infrared or ultraviolet light. Embedded RFID tags should make the chips much harder to counterfeit, and placing tag readers at staff exits could cut down on theft by employees.

The tags could also help casinos manage large-scale theft. If a large stash of chips goes missing after a table is overturned during an argument, for example casinos sometimes have to change their entire stock. This is unpopular with gamblers, since any chips that they have not cashed become worthless. RFID tags would allow the casinos to identify stolen chips without the expensive process of restocking.

RFID Privacy Blog

MIT held a workshop on RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) Privacy in November 2003. During the preparations, a blog (RFID Privacy Happenings) was created that highlighted RFID privacy issues in the news. It appears to be outliving the workshop itself and contains a good variety of news links. Also, the agenda page for the workshop links to PDF versions of the speeches and presentations. For more background on RFID chips and privacy issues, take a look at Spychips.com.