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RFID: bring it on
Editor's note: This column was originally published on February 11, 2005.
It's not often that a technology has a terrible reputation before most people even know much about it--maybe human cloning, banned before it's even accomplished. I suppose there are growing fears attached to nanotechnology, thanks to Michael Crichton and his buzzing imaginary swarm. But then you have RFID, which is actually pretty innocuous compared to human cloning and self-replicating nanobots, but it's nevertheless become synonymous with knee-jerk fear-mongering.
RFID stands for radio frequency identification. It's technology that lets you send, store, and retrieve data remotely, using portable RFID tags equipped with antennas. Currently, RFID systems are in place in a heck of a lot more places than you might think; they're used to track beer kegs, for one thing. Steve Wynn is planning to encode the chips in his new casino with RFID tags, in order to weed out cheaters with fake chips and possibly even identify whales with big lines of credit.
You'll also find RFID systems embedded in pets, car key fobs and locks, bookstores and libraries, clothing tags, airline baggage controls, ID badges, in-vehicle systems such as OnStar, toll booths and much, much more. According to Wikipedia, corrections systems in California, Michigan, and Illinois are using tracking devices on their prisoners, and Ohio is next. As for RFID implants, about 170 Mexico City police are implanted with tags that are designed to help track them if they're kidnapped or to let them access police databases remotely, and customers of a Spanish beach club have cheerfully accepted implants that let them pay for drinks in VIP fashion.
Nevertheless, here in the States, parents are freaking out over a California school's plan to make its students wear badges embedded with RFID chips. The school believes the badges will help cut down on truancy, prevent security breaches in schools, and eventually, even let students pay for their lunches or check out library books without extra cash or cards. Wow, now that sounds evil, doesn't it? But sure enough, CNN reported that the schools want to "track their every move." Parents fear their children are being treated like inventory, but can you imagine how they'd respond if their children were kidnapped from school or wandered off campus and got hit by cars? They're worried the badges will fall into the wrong hands, and their children's names, photos, and grade information will be used...well, they're not sure how, but it'll probably be horrible.
We all have the same fears about RFID tags in passports, and we keep raising the specter of a world in which we're monitored everywhere we go, even as we make precisely recorded credit card transactions, pump gas at surveillance-equipped stations, and hand over our social security numbers just to qualify for digital cable. We already trust a lot of technology in our daily lives, and while identity theft is on the rise, most of it comes from old-fashioned fraud and theft, updated with such tactics as online phishing. In fact, many experts recommend things like smart cards and payer authentication as solutions to privacy and identity theft problems.
So, is RFID perfectly safe from problems? Of course not. If you swim in the ocean, you know there are sharks. Camp in the woods, you know there are bears. You have a credit card, you know it could get stolen. You shop online, you know someone could hack the retailer and steal the information. You use e-mail, you know you could get a virus. The list goes on and on. Unless you're willing to go off the grid (and camp in the woods with the bears), you must be willing to accept the inherent risks that come along with the grid and accept the fact that new technology can, amazingly, make life better and easier.
I can't wait for RFID-tagged groceries, for example, so I can simply gather them up, use my Safeway card to send my credit card information to a scanner at the door, and walk through, as the scanner tallies up the price and charges my card. I admit it--I like the idea of an implanted tag at the hospital that would keep doctors from amputating, say, the wrong leg, or giving me a drug I'm allergic to. "Privacy concerns" is quickly becoming buried-ostrich-head code for, "we're afraid of change and don't want to take the time to learn about this crazy new technology you're talking about." I'm not minimizing the risks, but an informed and involved populace is the one that can help reduce those risks by adopting technology correctly and intelligently and asking for safeguards where they are necessary.
By Molly Wood, Section editor, CNET.com
Friday, May 13, 2005
Editor's note: This column was originally published on February 11, 2005. It's not often that a technology has a terrible reputation before most people even know much about it--maybe human cloning, banned before it's even accomplished. I suppose there are growing fears attached to nanotechnology, thanks to Michael Crichton and his buzzing imaginary swarm. But then you have RFID, which is actually pretty innocuous compared to human cloning and self-replicating nanobots, but it's nevertheless become synonymous with knee-jerk fear-mongering.
RFID stands for radio frequency identification. It's technology that lets you send, store, and retrieve data remotely, using portable RFID tags equipped with antennas. Currently, RFID systems are in place in a heck of a lot more places than you might think; they're used to track beer kegs, for one thing. Steve Wynn is planning to encode the chips in his new casino with RFID tags, in order to weed out cheaters with fake chips and possibly even identify whales with big lines of credit.
You'll also find RFID systems embedded in pets, car key fobs and locks, bookstores and libraries, clothing tags, airline baggage controls, ID badges, in-vehicle systems such as OnStar, toll booths and much, much more. According to Wikipedia, corrections systems in California, Michigan, and Illinois are using tracking devices on their prisoners, and Ohio is next. As for RFID implants, about 170 Mexico City police are implanted with tags that are designed to help track them if they're kidnapped or to let them access police databases remotely, and customers of a Spanish beach club have cheerfully accepted implants that let them pay for drinks in VIP fashion.
Nevertheless, here in the States, parents are freaking out over a California school's plan to make its students wear badges embedded with RFID chips. The school believes the badges will help cut down on truancy, prevent security breaches in schools, and eventually, even let students pay for their lunches or check out library books without extra cash or cards. Wow, now that sounds evil, doesn't it? But sure enough, CNN reported that the schools want to "track their every move." Parents fear their children are being treated like inventory, but can you imagine how they'd respond if their children were kidnapped from school or wandered off campus and got hit by cars? They're worried the badges will fall into the wrong hands, and their children's names, photos, and grade information will be used...well, they're not sure how, but it'll probably be horrible.
We all have the same fears about RFID tags in passports, and we keep raising the specter of a world in which we're monitored everywhere we go, even as we make precisely recorded credit card transactions, pump gas at surveillance-equipped stations, and hand over our social security numbers just to qualify for digital cable. We already trust a lot of technology in our daily lives, and while identity theft is on the rise, most of it comes from old-fashioned fraud and theft, updated with such tactics as online phishing. In fact, many experts recommend things like smart cards and payer authentication as solutions to privacy and identity theft problems.
What do you think? Are you ready for a little RFID implant? Talk back to me below!
Post your comment hereI can't wait for RFID-tagged groceries, for example, so I can simply gather them up, use my Safeway card to send my credit card information to a scanner at the door, and walk through, as the scanner tallies up the price and charges my card. I admit it--I like the idea of an implanted tag at the hospital that would keep doctors from amputating, say, the wrong leg, or giving me a drug I'm allergic to. "Privacy concerns" is quickly becoming buried-ostrich-head code for, "we're afraid of change and don't want to take the time to learn about this crazy new technology you're talking about." I'm not minimizing the risks, but an informed and involved populace is the one that can help reduce those risks by adopting technology correctly and intelligently and asking for safeguards where they are necessary.
