Think RFID is the answer? Read this!

Call me paranoid and yes I *do* own a tinfoil hat thankyouverymuch. I've always envisioned some badguy/badgal sitting outside a DC subway stop scanning all the federal ID badges that popped up above ground. CLONE!

Now comes word of this RFID emulator thingie.

Hand me my hat...

The End Is Nigh

If you're of an eagerly apocalyptic bent, this story
should give you a little shiver of glee.

The UK Ministry of Justice is investigating the use of satellite and radio-wave technology to monitor criminals. Only this time they're not talking about ankle or wrist bracelets, no that technology is yesterday's news. What they'd like to do, if no one minds too terribly much what-what pip-pip, is surgically implant radio frequency identification (RFID) chips under offenders' skin and track them via GPS.

We have wanted to take advantage of this technology for several years, because it seems a sensible solution to the problems we are facing in this area," a senior minister said .. "We have looked at it and gone back to it and worried about the practicalities and the ethics, but when you look at the challenges facing the criminal justice system, it's time has come."

A multimillion-pound pilot of satellite monitoring of offenders was shelved last year after a report revealed many criminals simply ditched the ankle tag and separate portable tracking unit issued to them. The "prison without bars" project also failed to track offenders when they were in the shadow of tall buildings.

The Independent on Sunday has now established that ministers have been assessing the merits of cutting-edge technology that would make it virtually impossible for individuals to remove their electronic tags.

The tags, injected into the back of the arm with a hypodermic needle, consist of a toughened glass capsule holding a computer chip, a copper antenna and a "capacitor" that transmits data stored on the chip when prompted by an electromagnetic reader.


Bah, I say. Does the Ministry of Justice never watch movies? Wise readers will recall that in 87% of all futuristic sci-fi flicks at least one character bloodily rips the Evil Overlord's implant from his/her molar/sinus cavity/neck, typically using a dull pocket knife.

Not to mention the whole IMPLANTING THE BODIES OF HUMAN BEINGS WITH TRACKING DEVICES issue. The world has gone loco, friends. Prepare for the worst.

Real ID doesn't make me feel secure. How 'bout you?

So the Feds in their myopic post-9/11 daze want to impose a pass law on us, oops, I mean "real ID". As if the stuff in my wallet is fake. No, the guv'ment just wants us to have yellow stars with us at all times, with us in a huge database they control (and hence us).

You'd think a Bar Code Nerd who sells barcode software would be in favor of real ID. Heck, we might sell stuff to Uncle and make some do-ra-me. No, I'd rather keep what little privacy and security I have intact thank you very much. Homeland security (sic) aint'. I fly a lot and I don't feel any safer now than I did before 9/11.

Some advocate dropping a heavy object on the back cover of your passport to disable the RFID chip. Some object to further scrutiny of law abiding citizens by Washington. Me? Don't get me started.

Finally! A good use for RFID

Someone asked me about RFID last night at dinner. I gave my standard response: "Who cares?" reflecting the lack of business opportunity it affords.

Well. Now I've found a reasonable use for RFID: a door opener. Not just any door opener but one that can be controlled via one's cell phone or browser!

NJ Company Offers "Cost-Saving" Alternative to RFID

Secure Symbology wants to keep your food, your pharmaceuticals , nay your very Homeland Security™ safe! Using barcodes, natch, and "proprietary machines" which run only a quarter million dollars. Each.



"Secure Symbology's proprietary machines -- at a cost of $250,000 each -- imprint individual serial numbers on each package and shipping carton, allowing the manufacturer to follow the product on its journey along the distribution and sales trail."

Call me crazy but that sounds like any old barcode process. You know: buy reasonably-priced barcode software, dump your data in, get barcodes back, print with the hardware you've got.

'Course, if you want to spend 250K, more power to ya, hotshot.

RFID hacking

Some of us here at Bar Code Nerds aren't exactly big fans of RFID. Self-interest and all, you know.

That said, one school of thought believes if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. To that end I pass this link on. DIY kids!