About Time Big Brother Showed Up

[Shawn]

source

Radio frequency identification tags aren’t just for pallets of goods in supermarkets anymore. Applied Digital Solutions (ADS) of Palm Beach, Fla., is hoping that Americans can be persuaded to implant RFID chips under their skin to identify themselves when going to a cash machine or in place of using a credit card.

The Surgical Procedure, which is performed with local anesthetic, embeds a 12-by-2.1mm RFID tag in the flesh of a human arm. ADS Chief Executive Scott Silverman, in a speech at the ID World 2003 conference in Paris last Friday, said his company had developed a “VeriPay” RFID technology and was hoping to find partners in financial services firms.

Matthew Cossolotto, a spokesman for ADS who says he’s been “chipped,” argues that competing proposals to embed RFID tags in key fobs or cards were flawed. “If you lose the RFID key fob or if it’s stolen, someone else could use it and have access to your important accounts,” Cossolotto said. “VeriPay solves that problem. It’s subdermal and very difficult to lose. You don’t leave it sitting in the backseat of the taxi.”

      RFID tags are miniscule microchips, which some manufacturers have managed to shrink to half the size of a grain of sand. They listen for a radio query and respond by transmitting a unique ID code, typically a 64-bit identifier yielding about 18 thousand trillion possible values. Most RFID tags have no batteries. They use the power from the initial radio signal to transmit their response.

When embedded in human bodies, RFID tags raise unique security concerns. First, because they broadcast their ID number, a thief could rig up his or her own device to intercept and then rebroadcast the signal to an ATM. Second, sufficiently dedicated thieves may try to slice the tags out of their victims.

    

  “We do hear concerns about this from a privacy point of view,” Cossolotto said. “Obviously the company wants to do all it can to protect privacy. If you don’t want it anymore ... you can go to a doctor and have it removed. It’s not something I would recommend people do at home. I call it an opt-out feature.”

I know what you're all thinking.....when can we get ours?

[rainbowdemon]

A very short comment. No f*cking way!!

[Shawn]

At least at this point they are saying it's opt-in.

I wonder how long until this get added at the same time as mugshots and fingerprinting when people get arrested.

[jipper]

when i was reading this i couldnt stop thinking about the part in the island of mr mugoo (i thinks that the name of the film) were all the mutated experiment animals rip out the chip from there stomach to avoid the pain....

[Shawn]

Yeah I saw that. Island of Dr. Moreau.

[jipper]

Island of Dr. Moreau

thats the one!

What a decent film that was..

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

A little more on the issue..

Will Wal-Mart Track You?

What do the U.S. Department of Defense (news - web sites) and Wal-Mart have in common?

The two organizations have become poster children for radio frequency identification (RFID), a technology that will undoubtedly help businesses and other enterprises do a better job of tracking goods, but also makes privacy advocates uneasy. Both organizations are requiring their suppliers to use RFID tags if they want to continue doing business with them.

With RFID, tiny radio transmitters are attached to products. These tags, as they're called, emit radio waves carrying data that's read using special scanners. RFID tags are like high-tech bar codes, only they can hold more data and their signals can be received over a far greater distance.

RFID holds tremendous promise. The Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) is looking into RFID tags for prescription drug packaging to ensure people don't end up getting fake drugs. The Department of Agriculture wants to use RFID to track livestock from birth to the dinner table to avoid breakouts of mad cow disease. And grocery stores envision a day when your shopping cart is so full of "smart" goods that they can alert you to specials in the next aisle based on what you've already picked, then tally your bill without taking anything out of the cart.

Read complete story here.

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

And more...

Sen. Leahy Calls On Congress To Study RFID

Yet another lawmaker is raising concerns about the impact of radio-frequency identification technology on consumers' privacy. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is calling on Congress to begin studying RFID technology.

In addressing attendees at a conference on video surveillance and other technologies at Georgetown University's law school in Washington this week, Leahy said Congress may need to hold hearings on RFID technology. He said that the time is now to begin a national dialogue on RFID before a "potentially good approach is hampered because of lack of communication with Congress, the public, and lack of adequate consideration for privacy and civil liberties," according to a transcript of his speech at the conference. "We need clear communication about the goals, plans, and uses of the technology, so that we can think in advance about the best ways to encourage innovation, while conserving the public's right to privacy."

RFID is a fast-growing technology, sparked by mandates from Albertsons, the Department of Defense (news - web sites), Target, Wal-Mart, and several European retailers that will require suppliers to begin using RFID in the next year. According to some research firms, the market for RFID hardware, software, and integration services could top $7 billion within five years.

Read complete story here.

[MikeHunt]

...it's been / being used in the military right now.

[ASUmusicMAN]

Yeah...I think some Senator should have congress start investigating how to keep the gov't the F outta my business

My opinion:

:poop:

[DudeAsInCool]

Yeah...I think some Senator should have congress start investigating how to keep the gov't the F outta my business

My opinion:

:poop:

AMEN TO THAT!

[treveinta]

thats cool, BUT IT'S F'ING WRONG!

[Lord_of_the_Dense]

And Mr. Gates enters the fray...

Microsoft Forms RFID Council

Microsoft has signaled its intentions to focus on the RFID market, with the formation of the Microsoft Radio Frequency Identification Council. The new group, which will meet for the first time in April, will review RFID requirements and focus on ways in which retailers and manufacturer can make better use of the technology. Accenture, GlobeRanger, HighJump Software, Intermec Technologies, Manhattan Associates, and Provia Software, will all participate.

Microsoft believes that the RFID market is a posed for growth, and the establishment of the council is a way to establish its stake. "With RFID in the early stages of adoption, we are continuing to expand and evolve our partner-driven strategy," Javed Sikander, program manager for RFID strategy at Microsoft, said in a statement.

A variety of Microsoft technologies are used for RFID, including Windows CE, SQL Server, and BizTalk Server for collecting, managing, integrating RFID data, and .Net for creating Web services-based RFID solutions. Microsoft Business Solutions also works with partners to bring RFID technology to small and midsize businesses

Read entire story here.

[Kooperman]

Microsoft believes that the RFID market is a posed for growth, and the establishment of the council is a way to establish its stake.

Unfortunately, that stake will be right through the heart of our personal privacy.