Lots of things concern me. Wal-Mart's recent announcement that it would begin inserting radio-frequency identification devices (RFIDs) to tag certain clothing items isn't one of them.
Perhaps it was an unfortunate choice that Wal-Mart decided it would begin inserting what it calls "smart tags" on underwear. What, exactly, does Wal-Mart want to track in your pants? Nothing at all, it turns out. All that it plans to do with the tags is keep better control over its inventory.
Some privacy advocates have expressed concern that the tags "can't be turned off" and that they're "trackable." Well, if the tags could be turned off in the store, and weren't trackable, they wouldn't help Wal-Mart manage their inventory.
Fortunately, you can take off the tag without damaging your new pair of underwear. But that leads to a new concern from some privacy advocates, who fear that marketing companies will begin scanning your garbage to track what you've purchased by the RFID tags you've discarded.
Well, maybe. But I think the concerns about RFID tags are misplaced. The real threat RFID poses, as I've written previously, is their use in identity documents.
Researchers have shown it's relatively easy to read data on RFID chips from a considerable distance. One researcher recently read an RFID tag from over 200 feet away. It's also possible to clone the new RFID chips used in supposedly "ultra-secure" passports. One researcher even succeeded in replacing his own photo in an RFID-equipped U.K. passport with one of Elvis Presley, and even got a boarding pass for "Elvis"—30 years after his death.
And here's where the Wal-Mart initiative gets a little scary. Once Wal-Mart and other stores apply RFID tags to their entire inventory, they could surreptitiously scan visitors to the store to instantly identify that person from whatever RFID-equipped identification document they're carrying. They could then custom-tailor offers for the visitor based on past purchasing patterns.
Again, I'm less concerned by this privacy intrusion particular application than with others. What happens if you're in an airport and terrorists who want to kidnap Americans begin surreptitiously reading RFID-equipped identification documents to identify U.S. citizens or residents? Or if an enterprising identity thief figures out a way to match the data on your identification documents with your credit card numbers, Social Security number, etc.?
To protect yourself, consider the following precautions:
Copyright © 2010 by Mark Nestmann
Perhaps it was an unfortunate choice that Wal-Mart decided it would begin inserting what it calls "smart tags" on underwear. What, exactly, does Wal-Mart want to track in your pants? Nothing at all, it turns out. All that it plans to do with the tags is keep better control over its inventory.
Some privacy advocates have expressed concern that the tags "can't be turned off" and that they're "trackable." Well, if the tags could be turned off in the store, and weren't trackable, they wouldn't help Wal-Mart manage their inventory.
Fortunately, you can take off the tag without damaging your new pair of underwear. But that leads to a new concern from some privacy advocates, who fear that marketing companies will begin scanning your garbage to track what you've purchased by the RFID tags you've discarded.
Well, maybe. But I think the concerns about RFID tags are misplaced. The real threat RFID poses, as I've written previously, is their use in identity documents.
Researchers have shown it's relatively easy to read data on RFID chips from a considerable distance. One researcher recently read an RFID tag from over 200 feet away. It's also possible to clone the new RFID chips used in supposedly "ultra-secure" passports. One researcher even succeeded in replacing his own photo in an RFID-equipped U.K. passport with one of Elvis Presley, and even got a boarding pass for "Elvis"—30 years after his death.
And here's where the Wal-Mart initiative gets a little scary. Once Wal-Mart and other stores apply RFID tags to their entire inventory, they could surreptitiously scan visitors to the store to instantly identify that person from whatever RFID-equipped identification document they're carrying. They could then custom-tailor offers for the visitor based on past purchasing patterns.
Again, I'm less concerned by this privacy intrusion particular application than with others. What happens if you're in an airport and terrorists who want to kidnap Americans begin surreptitiously reading RFID-equipped identification documents to identify U.S. citizens or residents? Or if an enterprising identity thief figures out a way to match the data on your identification documents with your credit card numbers, Social Security number, etc.?
To protect yourself, consider the following precautions:
- If you carry any identification document with an RFID chip, keep it wrapped in foil except when you need to use it. That makes it less vulnerable to remote cloning.
- When you check into a hotel, rent a vehicle, or carry out any other transaction abroad that requires you to present this document, don't let it out of your sight.
Copyright © 2010 by Mark Nestmann
This is America today:
http://youareproperty.blogspot.com/2010/06/we-are-exempt-from-your-morality.html
Posted by: J | August 08, 2010 at 07:22 AM
Hey Mark...unless you are like Minnie Pearl, who liked to wear price tags on her clothes/hats, those removable RFID tags contain numbers that have absolutely no meaning unless you have the Wal-Mart database that gives them meaning...very similar to looking at my license plate all day.
Posted by: Ted Williams | August 09, 2010 at 04:34 PM
The Americans have the government they deserve!
Posted by: Cesare Bonventre | August 17, 2010 at 02:42 AM