introHow to block/kill RFID chips

introHow to block/kill RFID chips

In this Instructable I will describe different ways to block or kill RFID tags. RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. If you do not know about this technology yet, you should definitely start familiarizing yourself with it, because the number of different devices that utilize these types of tags is growing exponentially.

RFID chips are very similar to barcodes in the sense that a certain amount of data is contained within them, and then transmitted to a reading device which then processes and utilizes the information. The major difference is that barcodes have to be physically visible to the reading device, which is usually only able to scan them at a distance of a 12 inches or less. RFID tags, on the other hand, do not have to be visible to the reading device. They can be scanned through clothes, wallets, and even cars. The distance from which they can be read is also much greater than that of a barcode. At DEFCON an RFID tag was scanned at a distance of 69 feet, and that was back in 2005, the possible reading distance now is probably much greater than that.

There are a few different categories of RFID tags, but the most common ones, and the ones we will be dealing with in this instructable, are the "passive" type. Passive RFID chips contain no internal power supply. They contain an antenna which is able to have a current induced in it when within range of the RFID reader. The tag then uses that electricity to power the internal chip, which bounces its data back out through the antenna, where it will be picked up by the reader.

For more information on RFID tags check out the wikipedia entry.

RFID Issues

RFID Issues

Right now, you can buy a hammer, a pair of jeans, or a razor blade with anonymity. With RFID tags, that may be a thing of the past. Some manufacturers are planning to tag just the packaging, but others will also tag their products. There is no law requiring a label indicating that an RFID chip is in a product. Once you buy your RFID-tagged jeans at The Gap with RFID-tagged money, walk out of the store wearing RFID-tagged shoes, and get into your car with its RFID-tagged tires, you could be tracked anywhere you travel. Bar codes are usually scanned at the store, but not after purchase. But RFID transponders are, in many cases, forever part of the product, and designed to respond when they receive a signal. Imagine everything you own is "numbered, identified, catalogued, and tracked." Anonymity and privacy? Gone in a hailstorm of invisible communication, betrayed by your very property.

But let's not stop there. Others are talking about placing RFID tags into all sensitive or important documents: "it will be practical to put them not only in paper money, but in drivers' licenses, passports, stock certificates, manuscripts, university diplomas, medical degrees and licenses, birth certificates, and any other sort of document you can think of where authenticity is paramount." In other words, those documents you're required to have, that you can't live without, will be forever tagged.

Consider the human body as well. Applied Digital Solutions has designed an RFID tag - called the VeriChip - for people. Only 11 mm long, it is designed to go under the skin, where it can be read from four feet away. They sell it as a great way to keep track of children, Alzheimer's patients in danger of wandering, and anyone else with a medical disability, but it gives me the creeps. The possibilities are scary. In May, delegates to the Chinese Communist Party Congress were required to wear an RFID-equipped badge at all times so their movements could be tracked and recorded. Is there any doubt that, in a few years, those badges will be replaced by VeriChip-like devices?

Surveillance is getting easier, cheaper, smaller, and ubiquitous. Sure, it's possible to destroy an RFID tag. You can crush it, puncture it, or microwave it (but be careful of fires!). You can't drown it, however, and you can't demagnetize it. And washing RFID-tagged clothes won't remove the chips, since they're specifically designed to withstand years of wearing, washing, and drying. You could remove the chip from your jeans, but you'd have to find it first.

That's why Congress should require that consumers be notified about products with embedded RFID tags. We should know when we're being tagged. We should also be able to disable the chips in our own property. If it's the property of the company we work for, that's a different matter. But if it's ours, we should be able to control whether tracking is enabled.

Security professionals need to realize that RFID tags are dumb devices. They listen, and they respond. Currently, they don't care who sends the signal. Anything your companies' transceiver can detect, the bad guy's transceiver can detect. So don't be lulled into a false sense of security.

With RFID about to arrive in full force, don't be lulled at all. Major changes are coming, and not all of them will be positive. The law of unintended consequences is about to encounter surveillance devices smaller than the period at the end of this sentence.

Who's using RFID?

RFID is already in use all around us. Ever chipped your pet dog or cat with an ID tag? Or used an EZPass through a toll booth? Or paid for gas using ExxonMobils' SpeedPass? Then you've used RFID.

Some uses, especially those related to security, seem like a great idea. For instance, Delta is testing RFID on some flights, tagging 40,000 customer bags in order to reduce baggage loss and make it easier to route bags if customers change their flight plans.

Three seaport operators - who account for 70% of the world's port operations - agreed to deploy RFID tags to track the 17,000 containers that arrive each day at US ports. Currently, less than 2% are inspected. RFID tags will be used to track the containers and the employees handling them.

The United States Department of Defense is moving into RFID in order to trace military supply shipments. During the first Gulf War, the DOD made mistakes in its supply allocation. To streamline operations, the U.S. military has placed RFID tags on 270,000 cargo containers and tracks those shipments throughout 40 countries.

On a smaller level, but one that will instantly resonate with security pros, Star City Casino in Sydney, Australia placed RFID tags in 80,000 employee uniforms in order to put a stop to theft. The same idea would work well in corporate PCs, networking equipment, and handhelds.

In all of these cases, RFID use seems reasonable. It is non-intrusive, and it seems to balance security and privacy. Other uses for RFID, however, may be troublesome.

Visa is combining smart cards and RFID chips so people can conduct transactions without having to use cash or coins. These smart cards can also be incorporated into cell phones and other devices. Thus, you could pay for parking, buy a newspaper, or grab a soda from a vending machine without opening your wallet. This is wonderfully convenient, but the specter of targeted personal ads popping up as I walk through the mall, a la Minority Report, does not thrill me.

Michelin, which manufactures 800,000 tires a day, is going to insert RFID tags into its tires. The tag will store a unique number for each tire, a number that will be associated with the car's VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). Good for Michelin, and car manufacturers, and fighting crime. Potentially bad for you. Who will assure your privacy? Do you really want your car's tires broadcasting your every move?

The European Central Bank may embed RFID chips in the euro note. Ostensibly to combat counterfeiters and money-launderers, it would also enable banks to count large amounts of cash in seconds. Unfortunately, such a move would also makes it possible for governments to track the passage of cash from individual to individual. Cash is the last truly anonymous way to buy and sell. With RFID tags, that anonymity would be gone. In addition, banks would not be the only ones who could in an instant divine how much cash you were carrying; criminals can also obtain power transceivers.

Several major manufacturers and retailers expect RFID tags to aid in managing the supply chain, from manufacturing to shipping to stocking store shelves, including Gillette (which purchased 500 million RFID tags for its razors), Home Depot, The Gap, Proctor & Gamble, Prada, Target, Tesco (a United Kingdom chain), and Wal-Mart. Especially Wal-Mart.

The retail giant, the largest employer in America, is working with Gillette to create "smart shelves" that can alert managers and stockboys to replenish the supply of razors. More significantly, Wal-Mart intends for its top 100 suppliers to fully support RFID for inventory tracking by 2005. Wal-Mart would love to be able to point an RFID reader at any of the 1 billion sealed boxes of widgets it receives every year and instantly know exactly how many widgets it has. No unpacking, no unnecessary handling, no barcode scanners required.

RFID 101

Invented in 1969 and patented in 1973, but only now becoming commercially and technologically viable, RFID tags are essentially microchips, the tinier the better. Some are only 1/3 of a millimeter across. These chips act as transponders (transmitters/responders), always listening for a radio signal sent by transceivers, or RFID readers. When a transponder receives a certain radio query, it responds by transmitting its unique ID code, perhaps a 128-bit number, back to the transceiver. Most RFID tags don't have batteries (How could they? They're 1/3 of a millimeter!). Instead, they are powered by the radio signal that wakes them up and requests an answer.

Most of these "broadcasts" are designed to be read between a few inches and several feet away, depending on the size of the antenna and the power driving the RFID tags (some are in fact powered by batteries, but due to the increased size and cost, they are not as common as the passive, non-battery-powered models). However, it is possible to increase that distance if you build a more sensitive RFID receiver.

RFID chips cost up to 50 cents, but prices are dropping. Once they get to 5 cents each, it will be cost-efficient to put RFID tags in almost anything that costs more than a dollar.

MC9090-G RFID Handheld Mobile Computer

Motorola's MC9090-G RFID handheld reader gives your workers the ability to capture a comprehensive range of data — from RFID tags and bar codes to images — with this flexible multi-function RFID handheld reader, which reads data in remote areas where fixed RFID readers can't reach.

Single device simplicity translates into simpler and cost-effective mobility architecture with fewer devices to purchase, support, and manage. And whether your workers are on the manufacturing floor, in the warehouse, on the loading dock or out in the yard, the rugged design ensures reliable performance.

Features

Superior application flexibility
Multi-modal single device supports 1D and 2D bar code scanning, RFID and imaging.

Supports EPC Gen 2 and Dense Reader Mode (DRM)
Allows easy integration of RFID as part of your supply chain processes.

Exceptionally rugged construction
Gives you the flexibility to work in nearly any environment and dramatically reduces repair and downtime costs. This device passes the industry's most stringent drop and tumble tests, has an IP64 sealing rating and integrated internal antennas.

Flexibility to support global deployment needs
Multiple configurations available that support standards around the world.

Superior wireless connectivity
Enable real-time data communications with Integrated 802.11 a/b/g.

Maximize software development investment
Windows Mobile 5.0 provides an advanced mobile operating system for robust application support (Windows or application specific).

Persistent storage and multimedia application support
Ensure retention of mission-critical data with Intel XScale PXA270 processor and 624 MHz enhanced memory architecture.

Wirelessly synchronize, print, and connect to a headset
WPAN: Bluetooth v1.2 radio with BT Explorer (Manager included).

Easy to read in a variety of lighting conditions
Large QVGA display: exceptional clarity and contrast.

Forward scanning, pistol grip ergonomics
Reduces user fatigue in bar code scanning and RFID tag reading intensive applications.

Integrated directional antenna (70 degree forward-looking)
Enables isolation of desired tags.

Familiar tools
API (Application Programming Interface) for Microsoft® Windows® CE.NET 4.2 and Windows Mobile 5.0 simplify and reduce the time required to develop RFID-enabled applications

Item Locator System Item Locator is a unique patented system for assisting staff to quickly locate items inside a large single building space such as a warehouse or factory, or over a wide open area such as a storage yard or a construction site. Item Locator is particularly suited to instantly finding objects in difficult environments where there are many similar looking items in close proximity, or where the search area is large. Item Locator is scaleable and so may be used to tag anything from a handful up to thousands of items, which can each then be instantly located within a square kilometre area. The system has been designed to focus solely on the items being sought at any one time and so is optimised to find between one to ten items in any single search. The items in questions may be anything such as high value assets, components, plant, mobile equipment, pallets of goods or even people etc. The items are tagged in advance and when sought the associated tag is woken up by a radio signal. The tag position is ascertained and the tag emits a loud beeping noise and flashing light so it will be quickly located by searching staff.
The Item Locator System can be installed as the primary means of finding items or as a secondary back-up method if the formal systems fail. An example application is where key parts are required quickly for mission critical maintenance, but they are stored in brown cardboard boxes with hundreds of other similar boxes stacked on pallets across many warehouse racks. The warehouse system in theory provides the formal location of where such an item ‘should be’, but if it has been put away incorrectly, moved or misplaced it could take hours or even days to find it through a manual search of all the racking. By contrast the Item Locator system helps staff find the required items within minutes.
Traditional RFID systems do not perform this task very well without a significant multiple reader implementation across the whole site which is expensive, inflexible and time consuming. For large area coverage a traditional RFID system could take weeks of planning, configuration, implementation and tuning effort. By contrast our Item Locator system is quick, easy and cheap to implement as it only requires one transmitter to be installed in the centre of the site or building which can cover a large area up to one kilometre square. Our Item Locator system is the closest to ‘plug and go’ as is possible for an RFID system to be and can be installed and delivering value in under an hour.

Outdoor GPS Tracking

GPS is the technology of choice for outdoor tracking of vehicles, assets and staff over a wide geographic area. Where an object needs to be tracked outdoors and also within buildings, then a combined RFID and GPS tagging system can be used as GPS alone does not provide indoor positioning.

RFID Centre can provide complete tracking systems including GPS personnel, asset or vehicle mount units and a unique flexible web based application software system called Universal Tracker. Tracking information is made available to multiple end-users over the Internet from a dedicated password protected web server. The system provides control, visibility, security, safety and real-time management of remote resources such as assets, vehicles and staff.

The Universal Tracker GPS software can be rapidly configured to represent the key information associated with any object class that your organisation wishes to track – so it can literally ‘track anything’ through one consolidated system. Most GPS tracking systems assume that only vehicles needs to be tracked and so have hard-coded only the handful of fields associated with vehicle information. By contrast our Universal Tracker system has been designed in such a flexible way that it allows customers to represent many different mobile object classes or resources such as plant, equipment, products, machinery, containers, consignments, vehicles, loan workers – so they may be all tracked and optimised. The system adopts the customer’s naming conventions, icons and terminology for any object class such that it can be rapidly implemented and instantly understood by staff users. An overview diagram showing how the system is used to track vehicles is shown below :
Universal Tracker System Features : Overt or covert installation of vehicle or asset GPS units, plus small form factor personnel GPS units Long battery life units with regular data reporting via the GSM/GPRS mobile phone network back to the server Geo-fencing - create multiple user defined boundaries and zones Create custom rules associated with vehicles or objects passing into or out of the zone that may trigger further actions or messages Issue alerts by SMS, systems messages or e-mail if rules or conditions are triggered such as a zone boundary being crossed by a specific vehicle or object class View object movements in real-time by configurable tables or through on-screen mapping with different icons for each object class Real-time position reporting Automatic arrival and departure notification with date/time stamp Snail trails and journey reports Supports combined GPS and RFID reporting – know where your vehicle is and what load is inside Route history log and reporting including downloads to MS Excel spreadsheets for further analysis

Indoor RFID Tracking

Passive RFID systems can be used over short-ranges where the objects to be tracked pass through a small number of known narrow points that can be automatically monitored – such as a pallet of goods passing through a door in a warehouse. Passive RFID systems are only capable of recording the movement of objects at those specific choke points and loose visibility outside of those points. Active RFID provides superior performance where real-time tracking is required throughout a larger or more complex area, such as within a hospital, industrial or office building with many corridors, doors and rooms. Battery powered active tags have far greater signal range and the active readers are generally cheaper, thus making deployment more cost effective overall. An active RFID system is viable where the objects to be tracked are higher value, mission critical, have a consequential impact if not quickly located, or there is an additional security, regulatory or health and safety requirement for such information. TagMobile is the brand name of the RFID Centre active real-time location and tracking system which incorporates both hardware and software in an integrated solution. TagMobile is a highly configurable system that provides superior indoor positional accuracy to all other systems as it uses patented tri-technology allowing the intelligent tag to ascertain its location with 100% certainty. TagMobile will locate and record the movements of people and objects anywhere within its predefined reader network. It can govern those movements with a system of rules based on associated events and actions such as an asset passing into a particular zone within the building. The following diagram shows TagMobile system architecure within a hospital environment:

TagMobile is scalable from a standalone department system to a campus wide network and can be customized to meet user’s specific process requirements. TagMobile can be installed as a completely wireless system using WiFi or Ethernet TCP/IP or a combination of the two to send positional data back to the central system with the lowest implementation costs. With appropriate password security authorised staff can then access the server to view the location of those assets or people from anywhere within the organisation.

Tag Mobile gives customers the ability to manage the following: People and Asset Visibility Asset and Item Protection Evacuation Management Dwell Time or Time and Attendance Area Detection Access Control Mobile Resource Optimisation Organisations will achieve the following benefits by using TagMobile: Secure facilities Protect personnel Reduce asset loss Locate assets/equipment Optimise mobile resources Increase workforce productivity Compliance to process Perform real-time stock Improve estate utilisation

HALO Infant Protection System

EXI Wireless Systems Inc.

HALO is the ultimate infant protection

Details

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HALO is the ultimate infant protection. HALO "P-Tag" transponders will create system alarms if removed from the patient. Any attempt to exit the HALO system perimeter will invoke countermeasures and alarms alerting staff. The HALO central station is a computer with full color video display. HALO alarms and detection points are clearly identified in the graphical representation of your facility layout.

FEATURES
• EXI's exclusive patient tag senses if it has been removed from the patient.
• HALO supports up to 10 central stations, providing color displays of your facility's controlled exits and alarm conditions.
• Simple user interface minimizes staff training.
• Automatic patient identification for tag removal or egress alarms.
• Door bypass features allow staff to escort patients without alarms.
• Automatic door control prevents unattended patient egress.
• Industry leading lift elevator interface locks down elevators while minimizing staff interruptions.

Infant Protection
HALO transponders are specially designed for infants. Cut band technologies require constant supervision from staff to ensure the protective device remains on the infant during weight loss periods. EXI patient transponders' flexible band does not require repeated tightening. If the band does slip off or is intentionally removed, HALO will immediately notify staff at the central station by identifying the infant and the area where tag removal has occurred in your facility. The HALO central site will maintain a log of activity in the system including alarms, staff bypasses and tag removals. The central site is also used to re-assign patient tags when admitting new patients into the facility.

Flexibility
HALO can operate stand-alone or integrate into a larger system, providing your facility with the desired level of protection. HALO systems may operate in conjunction with:
• fire alarm overrides;
• lift elevator control;
• video equipment;
• various card reader systems;
• door mag-lock systems;
• paging systems.

EXI provides a full compliment of peripheral hardware such asannunciators and bypass devices to tailor your system needs.

EXI Wireless Systems Inc., Suite 100 - 13551 Commerce Parkway, Richmond, BC V6V 2L1. Tel: (800) 667-9689; Fax: (604) 207-7765.

RFIDs: GREAT NEW LOGISTICS BUSINESS OR BRAVE NEW WORLD?

(Presentation by Dr Patrick Dixon at national UK conference on RFID use - January 2004 - see also RFID slides)

Get ready for the biggest manufacturing, distribution and retail revolution since the net. The next ten years will see a new techno-revolution which will allow total automation from manufacturing to point of purchase, using wireless technology to create "radio barcodes".

A world, where everything that moves can talk to everyone, everywhere all the time. That means cartons of milk, bottles of wine, clothes, wallets, tyres, cars, pets and people.

Radio bar-codes embedded into billions of different things and organisms which have value, including animals and possibly some human beings - sending out radio signals about what they are, where they are, and possibly what they are doing or how their bodies are working. Like mobile phones, they cannot communicate to each other direct, but can exchange information via send / receive base stations.

These devices are tiny micro-computer systems which already cost as little as 25 cents, expected to fall to less than 5 cents by 2005. They are going to change all our lives, containing hardware, software, and permanent memory stores. They transmit and receive data and have their own built-in power generators which could in theory last up to 100 years. Activated by a high-intensity burst of electromagnetic radiation from a distance of less than two metres, the devices respond with short bursts of data.

So-called Radio Frequency Identification Devices (RFID) are already being introduced rapidly by chains such as Wal-Mart for larger consignments. RFIDs have been around a long time. Since 1997 you'll have found the same technology in Ski passes in Switzerland , in Swatch watches, some of which can store credit, as well as more recently in London Underground electronic tickets.

Within the current decade, more of these RFIDs will be made each year than there are people alive on earth. Once prices fall to less than 2 cents per tag, retail usage will explode with anything from 20 - 40 billion tagged products sold a year.

"RFID - logistics and supply chain"

Computer chips get under skin of US enthusiasts

Forgetting computer passwords is an everyday source of frustration, but a solution may literally be at hand - in the form of computer chip implants.

With a wave of his hand, Amal Graafstra, a 29-year-old entrepreneur based in Vancouver, Canada, opens his front door. With another, he logs onto his computer.

Tiny radio frequency identification (RFID) computer chips inserted into Mr Graafstra's hands make it all possible.

"I just don't want to be without access to the things that I need to get access to. In the worst case scenario, if I'm in the alley naked, I want to still be able to get in (my house)," Mr Graafstra said in an interview in New York, where he is promoting the technology.

The computer chips, which cost about $US2 ($2.70), interact with a device installed in computers and other electronics. The chips are activated when they come within 3 inches of a so-called reader, which scans the data on the chips.

The "reader" devices are available for as little as $US50.

Graafstra said at least 20 of his tech-savvy pals have RFID implants.

"I can't feel it at all. It doesn't impede me. It doesn't hurt at all. I almost can't tell it's there," agreed Jennifer Tomblin, a 23-year-old marketing student and Mr Graafstra's girlfriend.

'Abracadabra'

Mikey Sklar, a 28-year-old Brooklyn resident, said, "It does give you some sort of power of 'Abracadabra,' of making doors open and passwords enter just by a wave of your hand."

The RFID chip in Mr Sklar's hand, which is smaller than a grain of rice and can last up to 100 years, was injected by a surgeon in Los Angeles.

Tattoo artists and veterinarians also could insert the chips into people, he said.

For years, veterinarians have been injecting similar chips into pets so the animals can be returned to their owners if they are lost.

Mr Graafstra was drawn to RFID tagging to make life easier in this technological age, but Mr Sklar said he was more intrigued by the technology's potential in a broader sense.

In the future, technological advances will allow people to store, transmit and access encrypted personal information in an increasing number of wireless ways, Mr Sklar said.

Wary of privacy issues, Mr Sklar said he is developing a fabric "shield" to protect such chips from being read by strangers seeking to steal personal information or identities.

One advantage of the RFID chip, Mr Graafstra said, is that it cannot get lost or stolen. And the chip can always be removed from a person's body.

"It's kind of a gadget thing, and it's not so impressive to have it on your key chain as it is to have it in you," Mr Sklar said. "But it's not for everyone."

Mr Sklar's girlfriend, Wendy Tremayne, has yet to be convinced. She said she probably would not inject the computer chip into her body unless she thought it was a "necessity".

"If it becomes more convenient, I may," said the 38-year-old artist and yoga teacher. "(But) I'd rather have an organic life."

-Reuters

How is RFID used inside a living body

RFID devices that are intended to be implanted inside a living body (like an animal or human being) have special requirements. They need to be encased in a special kind of casing that will not irritate or react with the living tissues that they are inserted into. The casing must also be transparent to the scanning radio-frequency beam that activates the chip. Some RFID vendors have created biocompatible glass for use in these applications.

One potential problem with being placed within a living organism is that the tiny RFID device may move around under the skin. This can be avoided by using special materials that actually let the surrounding tissue grow up to the casing and bond with it.

Because the radio-frequency waves that activate the microchip containing the identification number are only useful within a few feet (or less), the RFID chip is typically inserted very close to the surface of the skin.

The placement of the device is usually done with a hyperdermic-type needle. This method of insertion also dictates the shape and size of the device; implantable RFID devices are typically the size and diameter of a grain of rice. For dogs, the device is usually implanted between the shoulder blades.

RFID tags have been placed inside cows; some discussion of having all cows implanted with RFID devices has resulted from the recent scare with mad cow disease. Dog owners have used RFID tags to identify their pets rather than tattoos (the more traditional method).

RFID tags, like the VeriChip tag, can also be implanted inside human beings

Miniaturization

RFID is the technology which makes it easy to conceal or incorporate them in other items. For example, in 2009 researchers at Bristol University successfully glued RFID microtransponders to live ants in order to study their behavior.^[7] This trend towards increasingly miniaturized RFID is likely to continue as technology advances. However, the ability to read at distance is limited by the inverse-square law.

Hitachi holds the record for the smallest RFID chip, at 0.05mm x 0.05mm. The Mu chip tags are 64 times smaller than the new RFID tags.^[8] Manufacture is enabled by using the Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) process. These "dust" sized chips can store 38-digit numbers using 128-bit Read Only Memory (ROM).^[9] A major challenge is the attachment of the antennas, thus limiting read range to only millimeters.

Potential alternatives to the radio frequencies (0.125–0.1342, 0.140–0.1485, 13.56, and 840–960 MHz) used are seen in optical RFID (or OPID) at 333 THz (900 nm), 380 THz (788 nm), 750 THz (400 nm).^[10] The awkward antennas of RFID can be replaced with photovoltaic components and IR-LEDs on the ICs!

History and technology background

In 1946 Léon Theremin invented an espionage tool for the Soviet Union which retransmitted incident radio waves with audio information. Sound waves vibrated a diaphragm which slightly altered the shape of the resonator, which modulated the reflected radio frequency. Even though this device was a covert listening device, not an identification tag, it is considered to be a predecessor of RFID technology, because it was likewise passive, being energized and activated by electromagnetic waves from an outside source.^[2]

Similar technology, such as the IFF transponder invented in the United Kingdom in 1915, was routinely used by the allies in World War II to identify aircraft as friend or foe. Transponders are still used by most powered aircraft to this day. Another early work exploring RFID is the landmark 1948 paper by Harry Stockman, titled "Communication by Means of Reflected Power" (Proceedings of the IRE, pp 1196–1204, October 1948). Stockman predicted that "... considerable research and development work has to be done before the remaining basic problems in reflected-power communication are solved, and before the field of useful applications is explored."

Mario Cardullo's U.S. Patent 3,713,148 in 1973 was the first true ancestor of modern RFID; a passive radio transponder with memory. The initial device was passive, powered by the interrogating signal, and was demonstrated in 1971 to the New York Port Authority and other potential users and consisted of a transponder with 16 bit memory for use as a toll device. The basic Cardullo patent covers the use of RF, sound and light as transmission media. The original business plan presented to investors in 1969 showed uses in transportation (automotive vehicle identification, automatic toll system, electronic license plate, electronic manifest, vehicle routing, vehicle performance monitoring), banking (electronic check book, electronic credit card), security (personnel identification, automatic gates, surveillance) and medical (identification, patient history).

A very early demonstration of reflected power (modulated backscatter) RFID tags, both passive and semi-passive, was performed by Steven Depp, Alfred Koelle, and Robert Freyman at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in 1973^[3]. The portable system operated at 915 MHz and used 12-bit tags. This technique is used by the majority of today's UHFID and microwave RFID tags.

The first patent to be associated with the abbreviation RFID was granted to Charles Walton in 1983 U.S. Patent 4,384,288.

The largest deployment of active RFID is the US Department of Defense use of Savi ^[4] active tags on every one of its more than a million shipping containers that travel outside of the continental United States (CONUS). The largest passive RFID deployment is the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) deployment across 72 facilities implemented by ODIN ^[5] who also performed the global roll-out for Airbus ^[6] consisting of 13 projects across the globe

RFID Car Systems: Radio Protection

­

Radio-frequency identification tags use similar technology to RFIDs used in cars.

Cars with RFID security do have lower theft rates, and it makes sense. This type of system makes getting in and driving off a lot more complicated.

Keyless entry and immobilizer systems work in pretty much the same way. Let's say you have a keyless-entry fob. It's a standard radio-transponder setup: Inside is a circuit board, a radio transmitter, a battery and an antenna. When you get near your car, perhaps 5 feet to 10 feet (a few meters) away, you press the button to unlock your doors. The RFID chip in the fob sends out a code of 40 impulses broadcast on different frequencies. The corresponding RFID chip in the car receives this code and accesses the car's software to find out if the code is the right one. If it is, the doors unlock.

This is called an active RFID system, since pushing the button actively sends out the code, instead of receiving it. The immobilizer chips in ignition keys are also active. Keyless ignition, on the other hand, is a passive RFID system. Instead of the ignition chip sending out the code, the car sends out the code and the ignition chip receives it. Ignition systems have no battery (or a different kind), and they have a lower-power antenna, so they won't broadcast as far. It's an additional security measure.

On its face, the system seems impenetrable: There are billions of possible sequences, and brute force will no longer get the car moving. Add in rolling codes, which are becoming more common -- a system in which the expected sequence changes slightly every time you push the button -- and the options get closer to a trillion. But as with any security system, it's only impenetrable until thieves figure out a way around it. Look at safes and burglar alarms; you've got to update those frequently in order to stay ahead of the robbers. Car RFID systems are no different.

RFID hacking is the most high-tech approach to car theft yet. Using hardware that grabs radio frequency signals out of the air, and software that decrypts it, thieves with time on their hands can steal an RFID-equipped car. In 2005, researchers at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland demonstrated how.

RFID Criticism

As with many new technologies, people fear what they don't understand. In the case of RFID, consumers have many fears, some of which may be justified. This debate may be one of the few in which you'll find the American Civil Liberties Union and Christian Coalition on the same side.

Human chipping has seemingly higher stakes than merchandise tagging, and RFID critics are concerned that human chipping may one day become mandatory. When the company CityWatcher.com chipped two of its employees in 2006, these fears spun out of control. CityWatcher.com insisted that the employees were not forced to be chipped -- they volunteered for the microchip implants for easier access to secured vaults where confidential documents are stored. Other employees declined the implants, and their positions with the company were unaffected.

­Aside from the limitations of VeriChip scanning discussed in the last section, human chipping has profound religious and civil liberty implications for some people. Some believe that human chipping is foretelling a biblical prophecy from the Book of Revelation, interpreting the chip as the "Mark of the Beast." To others concerned with civil liberties, the chip is bringing us one step closer to an Orwellian society, in which our every action and thought will be controlled by Big Brother.

While we can choose whether or not to put RFID chips in ourselves or our pets, we have little control over tags being placed on commercial products that we buy. In the book "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan to Track Your Every Move with RFID," Katherine Albrecht and Liz McIntyre describe the most extreme implications of RFID tags. They describe how RFID tags could be used to gauge your spending habits and bank account to determine how much you should be charged for the products you buy. This may sound paranoid, but hackers have proven that some RFID tags can be tampered with, including disabling their anti-theft features and changing the price that corresponds to their product. Better encryption is needed to ensure that hackers can't pick up RFID frequencies with super-sensitive antennae.

What's more, some critics say that relying on RFID as the primary means of security could make human security checkpoints lazy and ineffective. If security guards rely solely on the RFID anti-theft devices in merchandise and RFID technology of government-issued identification to screen for criminals or terrorists, they might miss the criminal activity happening right in front of their eyes

Photo courtesy Getty ImagesThe Australian passport served as a model for the new United States e-passport.

While many consumers happily -- or obliviously -- buy merchandise tracked with RFID tags, some people are up in arms about the federal government's legislation mandating that passports be embedded with RFID microchips.
On Aug. 14, 2006, the Department of State began issuing electronic passports, or e-passports. Prompted by the terrorist attacks of Sept.11, 2001 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed the e-passport as a security measure for air travel safety, border security and more efficient customs procedures at airports. The e-passport's enhanced security features -- a chip identification number, digital signature and photograph that acts as a biometric identifier -- make the passport impossible to forge.
The e-passport will help improve security, but with so much personal information embedded in the document, there have been many concerns raised about the e-passport's potential for identity theft. Two possible forms of identity theft that could occur with e-passports are:
· Skimming happens when someone uses an RFID reader to scan data from an RFID chip without the e-passport holder's knowledge.
· Eavesdropping happens when someone reads the frequencies emitted from the RFID chip as it is scanned by an official reader.
However, the DHS insists that the e-passport is perfectly safe to use and that proper precautions have been taken to ensure user confidentiality.
· For protection against skimming, the e-passport contains a metallic anti-skimming device. This device is a radio shield inserted between the passport's cover and first page. When the e-passport is closed, it can't be scanned at all; when it's open, it can only be read by a scanner that is less than 10 centimeters away [source: Department of State].
· To guard against eavesdropping, DHS has mandated that all areas where the e-passport is scanned be thoroughly covered and enclosed so that signals cannot be picked up beyond the authorized RFID reader.
­The e-passport costs $97. While the cost to you may seem steep, the cost of installing RFID readers in airports is even more staggering. Adopting the e-passport will require gradual change, but aut­horities are already discussing what added security features and improved biometrics the next series of e-passports will have.
The debate over e-passports pales in comparison to debates over human chipping. Next, we'll learn what RFID microchips are doing in livi­ng things.

Talking Tags

When the RFID industry is able to lower the price of tags, it will lead to a ubiquitous network of smart packages that track every phase of the supply chain. Store ­shelves will be full of smart-labeled products that can be tracked from purchase to trash can. The shelves themselves will communicate wirelessly with the network. The tags will be just one component of this large product-tracking network.

The other two pieces to this network will be the readers that communicate with the tags and the Internet, which will provide communications lines for the network.

Let's look at a real-world scenario of this system:

• At the grocery store, you buy a carton of milk. The milk containers will have an RFID tag that stores the milk's expiration date and price. When you lift the milk from the shelf, the shelf may display the milk's specific expiration date, or the information could be wirelessly sent to your personal digital assistant or cell phone.
  
• As you exit the store, you pass through doors with an embedded tag reader. This reader tabulates the cost of all the items in your shopping cart and sends the grocery bill to your bank, which deducts the amount from your account. Product manufacturers know that you've bought their product, and the store's computers know exactly how many of each product need to be reordered.
  
• Once you get home, you put your milk in the refrigerator, which is also equipped with a tag reader. This smart refrigerator is capable of tracking all of the groceries stored in it. It can track the foods you use, how often you restock your refrigerator and can let you know when that milk and other foods spoil.
  
• Products are also tracked when they are thrown into a trash can or recycle bin. At this point, your refrigerator could add milk to your grocery list, or you could program the fridge to order these items automatically.
  
• Based on the products you buy, your grocery store gets to know your unique preferences. Instead of receiving generic newsletters with weekly grocery specials, you might receive one created just for you. If you have two school-age children and a puppy, your grocery store can use customer-specific marketing by sending you coupons for items like juice boxes and dog food.

In order for this system to work, each product will be given a unique product number. MIT's Auto-ID Center is working on an Electronic Product Code (EPC) identifier that could replace the UPC. Every smart label could contain 96 bits of information, including the product manufacturer, product name and a 40-bit serial number. Using this system, a smart label would communicate with a network called the Object Naming Service. This database would retrieve information about a product and then direct information to the manufacturer's computers.

The information stored on the smart labels would be written in a Product Markup Language (PML), which is based on the eXtensible Markup Language (XML). PML would allow all computers to communicate with any computer system similar to the way that Web servers read Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), the common language used to create Web pages.

We're not at this point yet, but RFID tags are more prominent in your life than you may realize. Wal-Mart and Best Buy are just two major merchandisers that use RFID tags for stocking and marketing purposes.

Some critics find the idea of merchandisers tracking and recording purchases to be alarming. But retail isn't the only industry using RFID technology. In the next section, we'll learn how the government is putting RFID tags to use.­

How RFID Works

RFID Tags Past and Present

RFID technology has been around since 1970, but until recently, it has been too expensive to use on a large scale. Originally, RFID tags were used to track large items, like cows, railroad cars and airline luggage, that were shipped over long distances, These original tags, called inductively coupled RFID tags, were complex systems of metal coils, antennae and glass.

Inductively coupled RFID tags were powered by a magnetic field generated by the RFID reader. Electrical current has an electrical component and a magnetic component -- it is electromagnetic. Because of this, you can create a magnetic field with electricity, and you can create electrical current with a magnetic field. The name "inductively coupled" comes from this process -- the magnetic field inducts a current in the wire. You can learn more in How Electromagnets Work.

Capacitively coupled tags

were created next in an attempt to lower the technology's cost. These were meant to be disposable tags that could be applied to less expensive merchandise and made as universal as bar codes. Capacitively coupled tags used conductive carbon ink instead of metal coils to transmit data. The ink was printed on paper labels and scanned by readers. Motorola's BiStatix RFID tags were the frontrunners in this technology. They used a silicon chip that was only 3mm wide and stored 96 bits of information. This technology didn't catch on with retailers, and BiStatix was shut down in 2001 [source: RFID Journal].

Newer innovations in the RFID industry include active, semi-active, and passive RFID tags. These tags can store up to 2 kilobytes of data and are composed of a microchip, antenna, and, in the case of active and semi-passive tags, a battery. The tag's components are enclosed within plastic, silicon or sometimes glass.

At a basic level, each tag works in the same way:

• Data­ stored within an RFID tag's microchip waits to be read.
  
  
• The tag's antenna receives electromagnetic energy from an RFID reader's antenna.
  
  
• Using power from its internal battery or power harvested from the reader's electromagnetic field, the tag sends radio waves back to the reader.
  
  
• ­The reader picks up the tag's radio waves and interprets the frequencies as meaningful data.
  

Inductively coupled and capacitively coupled RFID tags aren't used as commonly today because they are expensive and bulky. In the next section, we'll learn more about active, semi-passive and passive RFID tags.

Reinventing the Bar Code

Reinventing the Bar Code

Almost everything that you buy from retailers has a UPC bar code printed on it. These bar codes help manufacturers and retailers keep track of inventory. They also give valuable ­information about the quantity of products being bought and, to some extent, by whom the products are being bought. These codes serve as product fingerprints made of machine-readable parallel bars that store binary code.

Created in the early 1970s to speed up the check out process, bar codes have a few disadvantages:

• In order to keep up with inventories, companies must scan each bar code on every box of a particular product.
  
  
• Going through the checkout line involves the same process of scanning each bar code on each item.
  
  
• Bar code is a read-only technology, meaning that it cannot send out any information.

RFID tags are an improvement over bar codes because the tags have read and write capabilities. Data stored on RFID tags can be changed, updated and locked. Some stores that have begun using RFID tags have found that the technology offers a better way to track merchandise for stocking and marketing purposes. Through RFID tags, stores can see how quickly the products leave the shelves and who's buying them.

In addition to retail merchandise, RFID tags have also been added to transportation devices like highway toll passcards and subway passes. Because of their ability to store data so efficiently, RFID tags can tabulate the cost of tolls and fares and deduct the cost electronically from the amount of money that the user places on the card. Rather than waiting to pay a toll at a tollbooth or shelling out coins at a token counter, passengers use RFID chip-embedded passes like debit cards.

But would you entrust your medical history to an RFID tag? How about your home address or your baby's safety? Let's look at two types of RFID tags and how they store and transmit data before we move past grocery store purchase­s to human lives.