RFID Will Be Unavoidable
January 29, 2006 | 8 Comments
In response to my RFID Fears, Jon commented about being able to “zap” RFID as a solution:
Look at the bright side. Electronic devices fail. Sometimes on their own, and sometimes with the help of a little device like this.
This is cool, but short sighted.
Currently a lot of work is going into getting RFID into US Passports. Most proposals so far have failed and we keep getting a delay on the inevitable here, but that’s one you won’t be able to zap. How long before state drivers licenses follow in those footsteps?
American Express has an RFID chip in it, probably zapping that would be bad if you care about the card, me I just switched away from the damn thing. But, if other CC providers get in on the game there may be nowhere to switch.
Or how about Speedpass for the gas station?
Or how about EasyPass to get through toll booths faster?
It’s very important that we realize these things are going to enter our lives on the basis of adding convenience. You’ll be promised a discount, or the ability to do something faster/easier. One potential big market is in replacing the stupid customer appreciation discount tags we all have on our keychain for grocery stores.
The reality is RFID is coming, we’ll all have a few tags, and the potential misuse of this is tremendous.
Tags: american express, credit card, easypass, freedom, passport, passports, RFID, speedpass, toll, toll booth
RFID in Passports
November 3, 2005 | 3 Comments
I’ve been concerned and generally against RFID since the first time I heard about it. Maybe its because I know a little about security, or identity management, or hell even the way markketing in a digital world works. Anyway, our brilliant US State Department is planning a roll out of RFID in passports for October 2006.
From Wired, Fatal Flaw Weakens RFID Passport:
In 2004, when the U.S. State Department first started talking about embedding RFID chips in passports, the outcry from privacy advocates was huge. When the State Department issued its draft regulation in February, it got 2,335 comments, 98.5 percent negative. In response, the final State Department regulations, issued last week, contain two features that attempt to address security and privacy concerns. But one serious problem remains.
Good that they fixed a couple problems, but a ton more are certain to crop up. I feel my fears aren’t misplaced. I guess I’ll have to keep posting this negative RFID stuff to help promote awareness of this garbage.