RFID keeps getting smaller. On February 13, Hitachi unveiled a tiny, new powder type RFID chip measuring 0.05 x 0.05 mm the smallest yet which they aim to begin marketing in 2 to 3 years.

See photos here

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“A method and system for identifying and tracking persons using RFID-tagged items carried on the persons. Previous purchase records for each person who shops at a retail store are collected by POS terminals and stored in a transaction database. When a person carrying or wearing items having RFID tags enters the store or other designated area, a RFID tag scanner located therein scans the RFID tags on that person and reads the RFID tag information. The RFID tag information collected from the person is correlated with transaction records stored in the transaction database according to known correlation algorithms. Based on the results of the correlation, the exact identity of the person or certain characteristics about the person can be determined. This information is used to monitor the movement of the person through the store or other areas.”

In short, Big Brother keeps track of all the products that you buy in a database. When you walk into a store, the RFID chips in your clothes, ID cards, credit cards (and later in your implanted chip(s)), will be read by the store’s Big Brother scanners and added to the database. Your identity will be determined, and other sensitive personal data will be cunningly extracted with radio waves.

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“‘Basically, you’ve given everybody a little radio-frequency doodad that silently declares ‘Hey, I’m a foreigner,’” says author and futurist Bruce Sterling, who lectures on the future of RFID technology. “If nobody bothers to listen, great. If people figure out they can listen to passport IDs, there will be a lot of strange and inventive ways to exploit that for criminal purposes.”…

Kidnappers, identity thieves and terrorists could all conceivably commit “contactless” crimes against victims who wouldn’t know they’ve been violated until after the fact…

“The basic problem with RFID is surreptitious access to ID,” said Bruce Schneier security technologist, author and chief technology officer of Counterpane Internet Security, a technology security consultancy. “The odds are zero that RFID passport technology won’t be hackable.”…

Schneier says there are a number of ways to improve the security of RFID passports but the best trick is to not create RFID passports at all. “Someone in the government got it in their head to make it RFID. Yes, its cool technology,” said Schneier, “but don’t do it because it’s cool.”‘

To read the full CNN article (highly recommended), click here.

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"Now we get to the scary part. Some airports are planning to expedite baggage handling by attaching RFID-augmented labels to the suitcases as they are checked in. This makes the labels easier to read at greater distances than the current bar-coded baggage labels. Now consider a malicious traveler who attaches a tiny RFID tag, pre-initialized with a virus, to a random person’s suitcase before he checks it in. When the baggage-handling system’s RFID reader scans the suitcase at a Y-junction in the conveyor-belt system to determine where to route it, the tag responds with the RFID virus, which could infect the airport’s baggage database. Then, all RFID tags produced as new passengers check in later in the day may also be infected. If any of these infected bags transit a hub, they will be rescanned there, thus infecting a different airport. Within a day, hundreds of airport databases all over the world could be infected. Merely infecting other tags is the most benign case. An RFID virus could also carry a payload that did other damage to the database, for example, helping drug smugglers or terrorists hide their baggage from airline and government officials, or intentionally sending baggage destined for Alaska to Argentina to create chaos (e.g., as revenge for a recently fired airline employee)."

Imagine the damage that could be done when implanting RFID chips in humans becomes widespread.

RFIDvirus.org has a lot of interesting information about malicious software for RFID chips, including how to write RFID viruses and worms. There is also a page on how to protect RFID chips, but just remember that “hackers” are always going to be busy cracking technology. Your implanted RFID chip will never be 100% “unhackable”.

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In addition to the severe privacy issues involved with implanting microchips in humans, these RFID chips are also vunerable to viruses and other malicious software:

"RFID tags may become commonplace in the future, but not a lot of people are looking forward to widespread implementation. There was already concern that these “smart barcodes” would allow consumers’ habits to be more easily tracked, and that the technology could facilitate identity theft. It turns out that RFID tags can transmit computer viruses, as well…

‘In our research, we have discovered that if certain vulnerabilities exist in the RFID software, an RFID tag can be (intentionally) infected with a virus and this virus can infect the backend database used by the RFID software. From there it can be easily spread to other RFID tags.’ The paper goes over three possible scenarios in which this could be exploited in a harmful fashion."

Don’t worry. I’m sure that you will be able to buy antivirus software for your implanted chip.

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“In a new test program, Horizon Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Jersey plans to implant patients suffering from chronic diseases with a microchip that will give emergency room staff access to their medical information and help avoid costly or serious medical errors, the insurer said on Friday…

…Horizon will test the program for two years to see if it warrants expansion.”

Several medical centers have started to “chip” humans:

“Trinitas becomes the sixth hospital that has agreed to adopt the VeriMed System in their emergency department in the last five months and the third hospital in the State of New Jersey to employ the VeriMed System.”

VeriChip’ family of companies has be involved in “chipping” 6 million dogs and cats. How long will it be until implanted chips become mandatory? It’s so convenient, and it is for your safety.

To see what it’s going to be like when you get chipped, check out this video of the chip insertion process.

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"A well known cryptographer has applied power analysis techniques to crack passwords for the most popular brand of RFID tags.

I haven’t tested all RFID tags, but we did test the biggest brand and it is totally unprotected,” Shamir said. Using this approach, “a cellphone has all the ingredients you need to conduct an attack and compromise all the RFID tags in the vicinity,” he added.

Shamir said the pressure to get tags down to five cents each has forced designers to eliminate any security features"

Do you want the password on your implanted chip to be vunerable to an attack by someone’s cell phone? I thought so.

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VeriChip also have a page that vaguely mentions “RFID infant protection solutions“, whatever that means.

Wikipedia has more about RFID and spychips, as well as a photo of what an implanted spychip looks like.

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"Why attach an RFID chip to a shirt when you can identify the shirt through undetectable, invisible chemicals mixed into the fibers?…

[CrossID] has devised a way to put a chemical signature into fabrics, labels, inks, boxes and other materials. When a hand or door scanner tuned to a specific frequency is pointed at an item, chemicals mixed inside the item get excited and give off a signal. The signal, which differs with the addition or subtraction of different substances, then serves as an ID for the item."

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"As you walk into your bank, your every move is tracked and studied. Once at the teller, there will be little need to present your ID. They already know who you are. That somewhat Orwellian concept could become a reality at your local lending institution in the near future if the radio frequency identification (RFID) technology now being tested in Europe proves successful…

Citibank has begun issuing pilot MasterCard PayPass key fobs, which are similar to small credit card that attach to key rings, for use at RFID-enabled merchants and at the bank branches…

Once the use of RFID is fine-tuned, it will be rolled out at 2.5 million PayPass debit devices."

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