Reply #3: RFID chips. The mark of the beast!

[Joanne98]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID
RFID mandates
Wal-Mart and the United States Department of Defense have published requirements that their vendors place RFID tags on all shipments to improve supply chain management. Due to the size of these two organizations, their RFID mandates impact thousands of companies worldwide. The deadlines have been extended several times because many vendors face significant difficulties implementing RFID systems. In practice, the successful read rates currently run only 80%, due to radio wave attenuation caused by the products and packaging. In time it is expected that even small companies will be able to place RFID tags on their outbound shipments.

Since January, 2005, Wal-Mart has required its top 100 suppliers to apply RFID labels to all shipments. To meet this requirement, vendors use RFID printer/encoders to label cases and pallets that require EPC tags for Wal-Mart. These smart labels are produced by embedding RFID inlays inside the label material, and then printing bar code and other visible information on the surface of the label.


Human implants

Hand with the planned location of the RFID chip
Just after the operation to insert the RFID tag was completedImplantable RFID chips designed for animal tagging are now being used in humans. An early experiment with RFID implants was conducted by British professor of cybernetics Kevin Warwick, who implanted a chip in his arm in 1998. Night clubs in Barcelona, Spain and in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, use an implantable chip to identify their VIP customers, who in turn use it to pay for drinks.

RFID implantee Amal Graafstra kick-started the DIY implant craze when he implanted a glass ampoule style EM4102 tag into his left hand in March 2005. He has since been named one of the top 25 influencersin the RFID industry. He regularly answers questions on his RFID Toys reader forum. The pictures shown to the right of this section are before and after photos of Amal's left hand.

In 2004, the Mexican Attorney General's office implanted 18 of its staff members with the Verichip to control access to a secure data room. (This number has been variously mis-reported as 160 or 180 staff members.<13> <14>)

Security experts are warned against using RFID for authenticating people due to the risk of identity theft. For instance a man-in-the-middle attack would make it possible for an attacker to steal the identity of a person in real-time. Due to the resource-constraints of RFIDs it is virtually impossible to protect against such attack models as this would require complex distance-binding protocols.


RFID in libraries
Among the many uses of RFID technologies is its deployment in libraries. This technology has slowly begun to replace the traditional barcodes on library items (books, CDs, DVDs, etc.). However, the RFID tag can contain identifying information, such as a book’s title or material type, without having to be pointed to a separate database (but this is rare in North America). The information is read by an RFID reader, which replaces the standard barcode reader commonly found at a library’s circulation desk. The RFID tag found on library materials typically measures 50 mm X 50 mm in North America and 50 mm x 75 mm in Europe, and can also act as a security device, taking the place of the more traditional electromagnetic security strip.<15>

While there is some debate as to when and where RFID in libraries first began, it was first proposed in the late 1990s as a technology that would enhance workflow in the library setting. Rockefeller University in New York may have been the first academic library in the United States to utilize this technology, whereas Farmington Community Library may have been the first public institution, both of which began using RFID in 1999. Worldwide, the United States utilizes RFID in libraries more than any other nation, followed by the United Kingdom and Japan. It is estimated that over 30 million library items worldwide now contain RFID tags, including some in the Vatican Library in Rome.<16>

RFID has many applications in libraries that can be highly beneficial, particularly for circulation staff. Since RFID tags can be read through an item, there is no need to open a book cover or DVD case to scan an item. This would help alleviate injuries such as repetitive strain injury that can occur over many years. Since RFID tags can also be read while an item is in motion, using RFID readers to check-in returned items while on a conveyor belt reduces staff time. Furthermore, inventories could be done on a whole shelf of materials within seconds, without a book ever having to be taken off the shelf.<17>. In Umeå, Sweden, it is being used to aid visually impaired people borrow audiobooks<18>. In Malaysia, Smart Shelves are used to pinpoint the exact location of books in Multimedia University Library, Cyberjaya<19>.

However, this technology remains cost prohibitive for many smaller libraries, and the conversion time has been estimated at 11 months for an average size library. With RFID taking a large burden off staff, it has also been shown to produce a threat to staff that their job duties have been replaced by technology,<16> but the threat is not realized in North America where recent surveys have not returned a single library that cut staff because of adding RFID. In fact, library budgets are being reduced for personnel and increased for infrastructure, making it necessary for libraries to add automation to compensate for the reduced staff size.

A concern surrounding RFID in libraries that has received considerable publicity is the issue of privacy. Because RFID tags can in theory be scanned and read from over 350 feet in distance, and because RFID utilizes an assortment of frequencies, there is a legitimate concern over whether sensitive information could be collected from an unwilling source. However, advocates of RFID’s use in libraries will point out that library RFID tags do not contain any patron information,<20> and that the tags used in the majority of libraries use a frequency only readable from approximately ten feet.<15> There is much yet to be written and discussed on the issue of privacy and RFID, but it is clear that vendors need to be aware of this issue and develop improved technologies for secure RFID transactions.


Other
Some hospitals use Active RFID tags to perform Asset Tracking in Real Time.<21>
The NEXUS and SENTRI frequent traveler programs use RFID to speed up landborder processing between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico. <22>
NADRA has developed an RFID-based driver license that bears the license holders personal information and stores data regarding traffic violations, tickets issued, and outstanding penalties. The license cards are designed so that driving rights can be revoked electronically in case of serious violations.<23>
Sensors such as seismic sensors may be read using RFID transceivers, greatly simplifying remote data collection.
In August 2004, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction (ODRH) approved a $415,000 contract to evaluate the personnel tracking technology of Alanco Technologies. Inmates will wear wristwatch-sized transmitters that can detect attempted removal and alert prison computers. This project is not the first rollout of tracking chips in US prisons. Facilities in Michigan, California and Illinois already employ the technology.
Automatic timing at mass sports events "ChampionChip".
Used as storage for a video game system produced by Mattel, "HyperScan".
RFIQin, designed by Vita Craft, is an automatic cooking device that has three different sized pans, a portable induction heater, and recipe cards. Each pan is embedded with a RFID tag that monitors the food 16 times per second while a MI tag in the handle of the pans transmits signals to the induction heater to adjust the temperature.
Slippery Rock University is using RFID tags in their students' ID cards beginning in the fall 2007 semester.
Many more applications can be found in the literature.<24>
25 real world application case studies can be found in a 61 page free Ebook RFID Technology Applications
RFID tags is now being embeded into playing cards that are used for televisied poker tournamnets, so comentators know exactly what cards has been dealt to whom, as soon as the deal is complete.
The Iraqi army uses an RFID security card that contains a biometric picture of the soldier. The picture in the chip must match the picture on the card to prevent forgery.<25>
Theme parks (such as Alton Towers in the United Kingdom) have been known to use RFID to help them identify users of a ride in order to make a dvd of their time at the park. This is then avalible for the user to buy at the end of the day. This is voluntary by the user by wearing a wristband given to them at the park.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFID