They are small, they have been around for a while, and they are moving towards some new, and questionable, uses.
RFID stands for radio-frequency identification. (Read here for an in depth explanation.) This technology is already used widely; some of the most common examples being the 'chips' placed in pets as ID tags, the EZPass or toll-tag, and for tracking inventory and cargo in shipping. RFID chips are also being used in surgical sponges to avoid the sponges being left inside of patients after invasive surgery. (Full article.)
The technology is useful, of course, in these cases, but when it comes to having personal identification information stored in one, tiny little device, things get sketchy.
The first obvious question: how secure is the information? There have been many studies and tests that demonstrate how easily (and cheaply) RFID technology can be hacked and duplicated. This article (PDF) contains summations of a few of these studies, starting on page 4.
In Germany, beginning in November citizens will receive mandatory ID cards with RFID chips in them. "The new ID card will contain all personal data on the security chip that can be accessed over a wireless connection." (Article at International Business Times.) This article does express the concern that "Illegal access to the stored data would be useful to create perfectly forged passports and for criminals to use hijacked identities for supposedly secure transactions online."
Another concern expressed early in the development of RFID technology was the question of anonymity, should products begin to be RFID tagged. In his article RFID Chips Are Here , Scott Granneman wrote "Once you buy your RFID-tagged jeans at The Gap with RFID-tagged money, walk out of the store wearing RFID-tagged shoes, and get into your car with its RFID-tagged tires, you could be tracked anywhere you travel."
Could it happen? Probably.
With this easily-accessed-information-bank technology becoming more and more common, and the idea of products everywhere being RFID tagged, my only question is this: How long until one must have a chip in the back of their hand in order to buy simple commodities?
Another article of note:
Don't Let Schools Chip Your Kids
You do a nice job of summarizing this issue and of identifying relevant articles and information sources for further reading. In the contest between security and convenience, which do you think will prevail?
ReplyDeleteDefinitely a terrifying thought that even our pants and shoes might transform into tracking devices as if we're all criminals. I believe that there should be a technology developed to identify citizens without intruding into daily lives or being open to corruption. This RFID Chip doesn't fit the bill in my book.
ReplyDeleteI have a feeling that as RFID becomes more widespread and accepted, that security for it will get better too. We had this problem when credit cards were first available, and while we still fight identity theft on that front, we still trust credit cards with our money. Either that, or we will scale the use of RFID back a notch, to where we only use it for non-secure uses (item identification, etc).
ReplyDeleteThis a scary thought to think about. We no longer can have any privacy. This is just getting way too out of hand. But I guess it could come in handy.
ReplyDelete