| ction | | | | kind, in fact the technology does have its own |
| Radio Frequency Identification technology, has often | | | | limitations, so it was technically impossible to do any |
| been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Most of | | | | of these things. However, in a charged atmosphere, |
| the sensational news concerning RFID | | | | who wants to listen to sane voices? |
| concerns the perceived threat to individual privacy | | | | Privacy rights activists then ignited the fires further |
| and security. Books like Spychips have only | | | | and claimed trampling on their rights to privacy |
| added fuel to the fire and have whipped up anti-RFID | | | | by RFID implementing corporations. |
| sentiments amongst consumers. This article examines | | | | Of course, it was nothing like that in reality. There |
| whether RFID is the real threat to consumer privacy | | | | are very few successful implementations of RFID in |
| ?Or is the individual’s threat to privacy from | | | | consumer goods packaging, where the end products |
| other, easily available technologies? | | | | that were retailed to the consumer had RFID tags |
| What is RFID technology? | | | | instead of bar codes. Most of the supply chain |
| To discuss the issue of privacy being threatened by | | | | tagging was going on at the pallet level. |
| RFID one must first understand how RFID | | | | Besides, the read range of these tags is very less, |
| technology works, at a very basic level. (I suppose | | | | typically in the range of a few fractions of an inch to |
| the meaning of individual privacy is well understood | | | | a few inches. Those RFID tags (UHF tags) that do |
| here and we won’t go into details about it | | | | have a long range, are used for tracking shipping |
| here!). | | | | containers and other large objects, there is no way |
| For those who are interested in learning more about | | | | that they can be surreptitiously put on unsuspecting |
| RFID technology, you can learn it from Abhisam | | | | consumers. |
| Software’s excellent e-learning course on the | | | | Thus, there is no possibility that if you have a bottle |
| topic. However the very elementary basic details are | | | | of those power enhancing pills (you know what I am |
| provided below. | | | | referring to), in your medicine cabinet, nobody else, |
| Brief description of RFID | | | | let alone Pfizer, can monitor it, even though the |
| Radio Frequency Identification technology is nothing | | | | bottle may have an RFID tag in it. |
| new. It dates to around World War II, when it helped | | | | Of course, Pfizer will know that some consumer |
| Allied forces distinguish their own planes, from those | | | | bought it, from some XYZ pharmacy like the way |
| of the Germans and avoid friendly fire | | | | they knew it anyway in the past, when they were |
| incidences. After this period of intense use, for many | | | | using bar codes to label it. However, they have no |
| reasons, it remained dormant for years together, until | | | | way to know, in real time who is the end user, how |
| it got resurrected recently (about five years ago) by | | | | many pills did he consume and so on. |
| a few companies, who realized it’s potential in | | | | I have just stated a small example here, but I |
| saving them billions of dollars in their supply chain | | | | suppose you get the general idea. |
| operations. | | | | The Real threat to Privacy |
| Today, RFID technology is going from strength to | | | | Now let us come to the real threat to privacy. It is |
| strength, every year, appearing in a lot many | | | | not from RFID but from other ubiquitous |
| applications than just supply chain management. This | | | | technologies available freely. |
| includes industries like manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, | | | | Wondering which are these technologies? The |
| food tracking, document management, baggage | | | | answer is simple. It is technologies like like Mobile |
| handling and so on. | | | | phone cameras and Google Street View. |
| Conceptually, RFID is something similar to a barcode, | | | | Mobile phone cameras |
| which is the pattern of those funny set of thick and | | | | Cameras started appearing alongwith mobile phones |
| thin vertical black lines, that you find on everything | | | | some three years ago, however they were plagued |
| from breakfast cereal packs, to shampoos and airline | | | | with low resolution and high priced handsets. Well, not |
| boarding passes. Barcodes are used to automatically | | | | any longer. My colleague just bought himself a Sony |
| identify an object, by using a machine known as a | | | | Ericsson mobile phone with a 2.0 megapixel resolution |
| barcode scanner. If every object were assigned a | | | | camera, with 2 GB memory, capability to shoot |
| code number, then to manually identify each object | | | | continuous video with sound recording, etc, etc (and |
| by reading the code number and then looking it up in | | | | yes, of course you can make telephone calls from |
| a table or a database to see what it indicates, would | | | | the device too). |
| be very time consuming. So some clever soul, years | | | | So it is now very simple for anybody, to |
| ago thought of denoting a unique set of these | | | | surreptiously monitor your movements, snap your |
| vertical lines for every such code number, so that | | | | pictures or video of a respectable quality, MMS them |
| they can be quickly scanned by a machine. | | | | to your wife or girlfriend or political rivals or even |
| The vertical lines look like bars and they stand for | | | | upload it to YouTube or similar video sharing sites. |
| the code number so , it began to be called a bar | | | | Additionally, it is now easily possible, even to |
| code. The bar code scanner machine, scans such | | | | continuosly track your movements (using your own |
| bar codes and then sends this scanned code number | | | | mobile phone and a sometimes pliant mobile phone |
| to a computer which decodes it and tells us that the | | | | service provider). Thus one can know, that when |
| object is , say a box of cereals, or say a shampoo | | | | you said you were in an important conference, the |
| bottle depending on the code number. | | | | said "conference", was not in a meeting room, but in |
| We use this technology almost everyday, when we | | | | seedy bar, in a disreputable part of town, with some |
| are at the checkout counters of supermarkets or | | | | newly picked- up friends. |
| boarding planes using bar coded gate passes. | | | | So do you now really believe that an RFID tag in a |
| RFID is something similar, except that instead of the | | | | bottle of pills can invade your privacy ? Sure, your |
| visual pattern of thick and thin black lines, it has a | | | | privacy is under attack, but not from the RFID tag . |
| data chip (containing a unique code number) and an | | | | It is being threatened, due to some nosy parker |
| antenna, in the form of a tag, which is affixed | | | | snapping you up on his 2 megapixel cameraphone |
| to the object, which needs to be identified. It can be | | | | while you were busy paying for the pills at the corner |
| conceptually thought of as a smart bar code. | | | | pharmacy. |
| Thus the box of breakfast cereals in our example | | | | The view from the top is not very pretty |
| above, will now have an RFID tag attached to | | | | The other ubiquitous technology now available all |
| it, instead of the printed bar code. If the box is now | | | | over the internet is the popular Google Street View. |
| held near an RFID scanner, it will communicate | | | | This part of the Google maps application, allows you |
| with the RFID tag wirelessly and read its code | | | | to look at how the street that you are browsing in |
| number. The RFID scanner now sends this code | | | | your Google maps actually looks like, on the ground. |
| number to a computer, which again looks it up in the | | | | To this end Google has put out (or hired an agency |
| database, finds that the number belongs to a box of | | | | on its behalf) to install hundreds of cameras in towns |
| cereals and indicates so. | | | | and cities all over the continental United States. |
| So what’s the big deal? Well for one, the | | | | These cameras stream a continuous movie or |
| RFID tag can be anywhere on the box or even | | | | pictures, back to the Google servers, which then |
| inside it, the scanner need not physically | | | | display them in the Google Street view application. So |
| see it. Secondly, bar codes can get damaged | | | | if you are curious, you can zoom in to a map of your |
| or stained or become otherwise unreadable, RFID | | | | home town, zoom in to street view and yes
it is |
| tags are much more rugged. Thirdly, bar codes can | | | | entirely possible that you see yourself stepping |
| be read one at a time, RFID tags can be read | | | | outside a pharmacy on the street with a bottle of , |
| many at a time. Fourthly, an RFID tag can | | | | you know what pills in your hand! |
| contain millions of possible serial numbers, so that it | | | | Surveillance cameras |
| will be possible to give a unique serial number to | | | | These have multiplied like rabbits everywhere. You |
| every individual item ever manufactured on the | | | | will find them in airports, supermarkets, bus stations, |
| planet. I can go on and on, but there is not enough | | | | banks, ATM kiosks, restaurants and many other |
| space here, nor is this a paper to tell you about the | | | | places , including of course on traffic lights. They |
| advantages of RFID tags, so to summarize, they are | | | | monitor your movements like hawks and who knows |
| much more useful and versatile as compared to bar | | | | what happens to the reams of film ( or stacks of |
| codes. | | | | hard disks) that are recorded this way? It is |
| The Privacy and Security issues: | | | | something like Big Brother watching you (in the classic |
| So how did the Privacy advocates come onto the | | | | novel 1984 by George Orwell). |
| scene? Well, RFID, to the uninformed public, might | | | | Or like the famous number performed by the rock |
| seem some sinister new technology, that big | | | | band, The Police, which goes like this Every |
| corporations might use to gather personal data about | | | | breath you take
.Every move you make
Every |
| consumers. About two — three years back, all | | | | step you take
.I’ll be watching you. |
| the big corporations , especially those selling | | | | Nobody has ANY data or documentation, audit trails, |
| consumer goods, were singing praises about the | | | | nothing at all on what happens to all the data so |
| technology and detailing to the press, how RFID | | | | collected, that can potentially infringe the |
| enabled them to view their supply chains and | | | | individual’s privacy and other rights. |
| predict or gauge customer buying patterns and | | | | Conclusion: |
| behavior. When the companies said that they were | | | | I am not saying that camera phones are bad and |
| monitoring customer behavior, they were doing it on | | | | should be banned (as they are now in may offices |
| an aggregate scale. This means they could find out | | | | and government organizations worldwide) or that |
| that say, customers in Bentonville were buying lesser | | | | Google Street view is dangerous or that store |
| razor blades than those in Manhattan, on weekdays. | | | | cameras are unnecessary. All I am stating, is that the |
| Nobody was monitoring the buying habits of | | | | technology to monitor your movements and actions |
| INDIVIDUAL customers. | | | | exists today, is ubiquitously available and can be used |
| However in the current environment, after all the | | | | properly, or misused to trample on the |
| Enron and Worldcom and other corporate fiascos, | | | | individual’s right to privacy. This technology is |
| the public was willing to believe the worst
..that | | | | NOT RFID however. |
| giant, greedy, faceless and ruthless corporations | | | | RFID technology, by its very nature, is HIGHLY |
| were monitoring them, using hi tech RFID chips and it | | | | UNLIKELY to be misused to infringe on an |
| was all so..so very outrageous! | | | | individual’s privacy (as compared to the other |
| Of course, the corporates were doing nothing of the | | | | technologies above). |