RFID Privacy, RFIDtown

Will RFID Chips Tell the World You Have Butt Implants?
By Brian Matthew

RFID Tags are popping up all over the place and will soon be everywhere. RFID technology, which can replace bar-code technology (and do a whole lot more), promises big cost-savings. RFID is wireless and transmits information via radio waves. RFID tags contain tiny chips that carry useful information. Problem is, they also carry information about you.

Does RFID create potential privacy issues? Yes.

Can steps be taken to reduce these issues? Yes.

Can the privacy issues be completely eliminated? Probably not.

As RFID chips find their way into more and more products, the potential for abuse grows. With the proliferation of RFID tags, comes the proliferation of RFID readers, many of them portable. In the near future, RFID tags could be transmitting all kinds of information about you. As you walk down the street, RFID could signal what you are carrying in your bags (including medications), what kind and size of clothes you are wearing, and even any medical products inside your body like a pacemaker or butt implants. Dishonest people could start a cleaning company and equip their vacuums with RFID readers. As the cleaning lady vacuums, she is also picking up all kinds of information about you and your household.

Do the potential benefits of RFID technology outweigh the potential privacy issues? The answer depends on your perspective. Are you craving the anticipated cost-savings and efficiencies of RFID or are you shuddering at the thought of having your personal information and/or habits possibly available to others? Regardless of how you feel about the potential privacy issues, RFID is coming and coming fast. So, if you are an RFID provider, user or soon-to-be user, you need to be familiar with these potential issues.

What are the issues?

Lets look at both sides of some current and future applications of RFID:

RFID Tags on Consumer Products Note: some of these tags can be easily removed after the purchase. However, others are embedded deeply inside the product where the average person cannot get to them or even find them. Yet the tags continue to send out information. Many of these tags don’t require batteries. They also can withstand clothes washers and dryers so they keep working indefinitely.
Pro	Con
Stores can reduce theft. Stores, warehouses and shippers can manage and track inventory better; providing large cost savings. Stores can be more efficient in restocking goods, improving consumer convenience. “Smart Products” could make life easier: frozen foods instruct microwaves how to cook them, clothes direct washers & dryers on the correct setting to use, milk notifies the fridge (which notifies you) when the expiration date has hit. RFID tags on cars or car parts leave records of where someone’s been and when, helping to solve crimes or locate missing persons. RFID tags throughout the car can notify driver when parts wear out, before problems occur.	Your personal information becomes more vulnerable. It could get into the wrong hands or even be abused by those authorized to have it. People or organizations could feasibly get information about you from RFID tags on your clothing/accessories as you walk down the street. For example, your watch could ID itself as an expensive model, making you a more attractive crime victim. A voyeur could know what size bra you are wearing. RFID tags on cars or car parts leave records of where you’ve been and when, exposing your habits and secrets.
RFID Tags on Prescription Drugs
Pro	Con
Helps eliminate counterfeit drugs. Prescription bottles could remind people if they forget to take a pill at designated times. Prescription bottles could alert people to harmful drug interactions.	It becomes more difficult to keep your meds private. As you walk through the parking lot with meds in your bag, nosey people with wireless readers could see that you have Prozac, Viagra or other potentially embarrassing drugs. Even worse, drug addicts or dealers could ID drugs they want, making you a potential crime target.
RFID Tags on Healthcare Products
Pro	Con
Dangerous situations could be avoided; like having an MRI scan with a metal implant. Reduced errors in surgery.	Nosey or unscrupulous people could pick up info from RFID tags in your body indicating you have a medical device or implants; even the size of the implants.
RFID Tags on Credit Cards and Consumer-Loyalty Cards
Pro	Con
“No-Swipe” or “Walk-by” checkout saves time, labor and costs. Faster checkout lines; possibly even no checkout lines. No-hassle rewards and discounts for frequent buyers.	Credit card info potentially could be read without the owner’s knowledge or consent. Current credit cards with RFID have been shown vulnerable to unauthorized access. “Consumer-Trackers” could be placed throughout stores picking up people’s signals. This information could be used to ID people, track their movements and observe behavior. Hackers potentially could clone the info on your credit card chip without touching it.
RFID Tags to Track People
Pro	Con
RFID in employee badges can automatically give people access to approved buildings & areas while keeping them out of restricted areas; lowering security and labor costs. RFID in Passports could make them safer and more difficult to counterfeit. The U. S. government has plans to embed RFID chips on passports. Prisoners can be tracked while incarcerated, guards notified if someone escapes or goes where they shouldn’t. Newborns and children can be tracked in hospitals, improving security. People under “House-Arrest” can be tracked and authorities notified as necessary.	RFID in employee badges can track people’s movement, big brother fashion; even recording how much time they spend in the bathroom. RFID in Passports means the government will record your international travel; an unsettling thought to many.

There are some excellent concerns being raised about privacy. However, keep in mind that some of these potential issues don’t need RFID. Granted RFID makes more information available and easier to access. But, the technology already exists for some of these potential issues to be a problem. For example: concerns are being raised that RFID will allow companies to know what you are buying and that this information could be used against you. An insurance company could potentially raise your rates if you buy too much junk food and alcohol. If you buy things with a credit card and/or do business on-line, merchandisers, credit card companies and others can and do profile your buying habits already, without RFID. Sometimes this information is shared with affiliate companies or sold to other merchandisers. However, selling this information to insurance companies or others who could use it against you raises a whole host of legal and ethical issues that go beyond RFID. Nonetheless, RFID does introduce many new potential privacy problems and can worsen existing privacy problems. What’s Being Done to Address RFID Privacy Issues? So, the debates have started. The concerns are out in the open. What’s being done to address these RFID privacy issues and by whom? Privacy and consumer advocacy groups are currently leading the charge. We’ll take a closer look in an upcoming article, but here’s a sampling of steps being taken or considered to improve privacy around RFID:

The first step is notifying consumers when products contain RFID chips, what information is on those chips and how accessible is the information.
RFID Tag Deactivation: Once a product is purchased, the RFID tag is killed. However, this technique would eliminate many of RFID’s after-the-sale benefits.
Tear Tags: IBM is rolling out RFID tags that have tear-strips. After a product is purchased, part of the RFID tag is torn off; greatly reducing the distance info can be transmitted.
Data encryption: Unauthorized persons could not make sense of the information. However, this technique would also eliminate many of RFID’s benefits.

If you or your company is planning on utilizing RFID technology, you need to consider these tradeoffs, what position you want to take on them and how this will impact your customers and employees.