Encyclopedia of Computer Science and Technology

406 RFIDParts of an RFID system. Depending on whether the chip is active or passive, the reader can be inches or yards away.• identification chips placed beneath the skin of pets• experimental human RFID implants (pioneered byBritish computer scientist Kevin Warwick) and nowused by VIP customers in a few nightclubs• tracking goods from original shipment to inventory(Wal-Mart now requires its major suppliers to includeRFID labels with shipments)• scientific sensors, such as seismographic instrumentsPrivacy and Security IssuesThe benefits of RFID technology are numerous: betterinventory control (see supply chain management); moresecure passports and other forms of ID; faster, easier accessto transportation systems; and potentially, the avoidance ofA Radio Frequency ID (RFID) “chip” from 3M. RFID is findingmany applications, but has also raised privacy concerns.(3M Corporation)mishaps in hospitals, such as the wrong patient receiving adrug or procedure.However, there are privacy and security concerns thatremain to be fully resolved. The primary threat is thatunauthorized persons could illicitly obtain information ortrack people or goods, for purposes ranging from simplelarceny to identity theft. Privacy rights organizations havealso raised concerns that information about consumer purchasescould be used for unwanted marketing (or sold tothird parties), while information about a library patron’sreading habits could trigger unwarranted governmentinvestigations in the name of fighting terrorism.There is an incentive to produce RFID cards and tagsthat are resistant to unauthorized reading or tampering. Acryptographic protocol can be used such that no informationwill be sent or received unless the reader and tag “know” thecorrect keys. Another possibility is to create a device thatcan “jam” reading attempts in the device’s vicinity, perhapsprotecting a customer’s grocery cart from being scanned.Finally, RFID cards can be put inside in a sleeve of materialthat blocks the signals. However, cryptographic and othersecurity technologies raise the cost of RFID devices and maymake them impracticable for some applications.In September 2006 the National Science Foundationawarded a $1.1 million grant to the RFID Consortium forSecurity and Privacy to study potential risks and safeguardsfor the technology. That same year a group of major corporationstogether with the National Consumers Leaguereleased a draft set of standards and guidelines for bestpractices in using RFID, with broader scope than the existingEPC (electronic product code) standards.Further ReadingEPC Global. Available online. URL: http://www.epcglobalinc.org/.Accessed November 12, 2007.Feder, Barbara. “Guidelines for Radio Tags Aim to Protect BuyerPrivacy.” New York Times, May 1, 2006. Available online.URL: http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9805EFDF113FF932A35756C0A96 09C8B63. Accessed November12, 2007.