What the future holds for RFID

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SETIsLady
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RFID Implants: Making the Body Electric

Post by SETIsLady » 04-02-2006 11:11 PM

Implanted RFID tags have been receiving a lot of attention lately. Originally used to provide unique identification for race horses and family pets, they are now being increasingly considered as a way to provide a "loss proof" identification device for people.

Since the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the tags for implantation in humans, primarily as a "license plate" key to access individual's medical records, there have been a number of other applications for which these tags have been proposed or even used, at least on a trial basis.

Are implanted RFID tags the wave of the future or a potential misuse of technology?

In order to assess the potential benefits -- and risks -- of implanted RFID tags, it's important to understand the design and original use of these tags.

Background

Since the initial use was to identify animals to either help make sure lost pets were reunited with their owners and to positively identify thoroughbred race horses, there was no need to be concerned about security. Tags contain a read-only 16 bit code that is programmed during manufacture. Tags are designed to be read by any appropriate reader and contain no security features.

The code is designed to serve as a key to a database and does not contain anything other than a unique number.

Tags contain a small capacitor that is charged up during the interrogation process. This charge is used to power the response. It is not possible to make the tag provide a higher power response no matter how much energy is sent to it since the capacitor has a fixed limit to what it can hold.

Because tags are injected into a body, animal or human, and human bodies are 70% water, this also limits the range of the tag.

Reading tags requires near contact with the tag, typically with the reader placed against the skin very close to the location of the tag.

Applications

Medical records:

The first human application is to provide access to a database of medical records. The idea is that the tag could replace other forms of identification, such as cards, that could be lost or not available when a patient is admitted to a medical facility. This could be critical in the event a patient is brought in unconscious and unattended.

The limitations are, first, hospitals have to be equipped to read the tag and, second, they know to look for it. The other consideration is that the medical records contained in the database must be accurate and up-to-date. There is a fee to maintain an individual's records. There is some concern among medical professionals that, until such record-keeping becomes universal and covered by medical insurance, the information may not be current. On the other hand, having basic information on a patient's history and previous treatments (and physicians' names) may be better than having none at all.

The concern among privacy advocates is that tags could be surreptitiously read and give access to unauthorized individuals to the individual's medical history.

Security access:

Some companies are also beginning to use these tags to provide access to secure areas within a facility. Several employees of one company voluntarily had the tags implanted (although it was not required). Other employees, including the manager, wear the tags.

Here, the concern is that there is no security built into the system and that tag data could be "spoofed" (copied and retransmitted using a hand-held device).

Financial Transactions:

It has been proposed that having an RFID tag implanted in the palm of a hand could be used in lieu of a smart card or traditional credit card for financial transactions. This presumes that there's a central database that relates all of a person's credit card accounts to the 16 bit ID number.

The concern is that, without some form of secondary authorization such as a PIN, the code could be surreptitiously read and used by unscrupulous merchants to make fraudulent charges.

Password Access:

It has been suggested that the tags could be used to replace passwords for computer applications. It was recently reported that a couple had tags implanted to give them access to each others' computer passwords as a demonstration of their commitment to each other.

In addition to the possibility the couple could break up (and either have to change all their passwords or somehow get the tag back from the other person), the same concern about copying and using the ID to gain access to the person's computer, e-mail accounts and other personal information stored on a computer.

Considerations

There is a potential concern that, if one tag is used for each application, an individual might need multiple tags implanted which may cause conflicts among various applications. Whether this becomes a significant concern or not depends on whether these applications become common.

There are, however, two current concerns about some of the uses of implanted RFID tags.

The first is the potential for the tag to be surreptitiously read, the second is the security of the database.

In the first instance, successfully reading a tag surreptitiously that's implanted in an arm is not as easy as it sounds. Because the range is so limited, it may take several seconds of contact with a reader to be successful -- significantly reducing the "surreptitious" nature of the read. Implanting a tag in a palm makes it much easier to perform an unauthorized read.

It has been proposed that implanting the tag in a tooth is the most appropriate location since "keeping your mouth shut" would definitely help protect data on the tag and would be very difficult to read without the individual's knowledge (except, say, in a hospital emergency room when the person's unconscious when you would want the information read).

Most of the applications require the development and maintenance of a centralized or interconnected database. This does not yet exist. There are currently multiple providers of companion animal ID systems, which require different readers and access to different databases.

However, this points to the other, more significant concern: the security of the database itself.

While it may be possible to "spoof" the data on the tag, the security of any system depends on having an authorization procedure between the source of the query, a hospital for example, and the data repository. Ensuring strong authorization procedures can help mitigate concerns about the ease with which personal information could be accessed by unauthorized people.

Analysis

Some applications, such as companion animal ID, can clearly benefit from RFID. Others might benefit from a more secure form of implanted RFID.

However, one of the key questions that needs to be asked is whether the implementation of an ID that can't be lost, misplaced or left behind can best be served by RFID or by some other technology such as biometrics.

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Post by mudwoman » 04-03-2006 12:07 AM

SLady, I want to thank you for the valuable service you have done for all of us by staring and maintaining this thread. I have not posted here, but have read every entry. I have been following this scheme for some time, and the ramifications are truly frightening and something we should all be aware of. Never has there been a technology (or weapon either), that has not been used. This is the future unless the people rise up against the elite on a global scale to stop it.

Thank you smadewell for your contributions. I really appreciate it.

I hope every one reads this thread and does some research into this.

BTW; I don't know if any of you listen to Derry Brownfield, but he will be one of the guest on Alex Jones today. Derry is a 74 year old, Missouri farmer, and hosts a down home, country talk show on GCN. He started the Common Sense Coalition, and has been fighting this issue, and the NWO for a long time. He and Alex are friends. Today on Alex's show they will talk about the UDSA efforts to require 'track and trace' RFID implants in ALL livestock. Some states have already passed such laws.

Alex's show:

11:00am - 2:00pm (central)
refeeds: 1:00am - 5:00am (central)

http://www.derrybrownfield.com/

Derry's show:

10:00am - 11:00am (central)
refeed: 12:00am - 1:00am (central)

both on GCN
http://www.gcnlive.com/mon-frisched.htm

Derry's show also runs on RBN:

10:00 am - 11:00am (central)
http://www.rbnlive.com/listen.html

All free listening.

Oh yes, about Derry, I love this guy! He will disarm you with his country manner, then before you know it he will tell you what he really thinks about the NWO, BushCo, and the control plans of the elites.

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Post by SETIsLady » 04-03-2006 05:58 AM

Thanks MW, sounds interesting will do my best to check it out. sounds like a man that is on the ball :)

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Post by Cherry Kelly » 04-03-2006 10:47 AM

Wasn't the livestock transporting and ID started because of all the mad cow scares??

==
Back to the article I wrote earlier - the medical ones at that time were very range lmited - it was a "test" program at that time in the KC area and only included a couple dozen people - and not imbedded but worn in a wrist band. The ones at the nursing homes are either in wrist bands (like medical ones worn in hospitals) or ankle band of same material and are more like GPS tracking device. They had a recent medical news - 15 minute segment - locally on news about updates on those. Seems even they were rather range limited.
==

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Post by mudwoman » 04-03-2006 07:41 PM

SETIsLady wrote: Thanks MW, sounds interesting will do my best to check it out. sounds like a man that is on the ball :)
Yes, he is. A 74 year old man who has been a farmer all his life, has an earthy common sense aura about him. Makes me (almost) nostalgic for West Texas ranchers. :eek: ;)

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Post by smadewell » 04-05-2006 10:48 PM

Since this thread is about what the future holds for RFID ... I'd like to lay some ground work for something I'll post in the not too distant future. However, I've got to take y'all from the present to old RFID information and the return to the present, okay? Sorry.... Just don't know how else to build a case for what I'm going to post in the future. Bear with me, okay?

Wish this were in English! Scroll down to the second picture and click on it and read what these fancy items are. Asia is so far ahead of us on the daily use of advanced technology, thank you very much, Li Ka-Shing, you Minion of the PTBs! When I was in the Philippines I was amazed that even the poorest of people seemed to have a cell phone. Nevermind their kids were half naked, they lived in a chicken coop and their dog (or dinner) was literally skin and bones -- they had a cell phone! Social engineering complete! Asians ready to be chipped like the chattel they are -- Li Ka-Shing's chattel, that is!

http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/artic ... ws063.html

Wonder what generation this RFID is ... 4G or 5G maybe?

Here's an article on MIL-STAD 3G RFID. Note that it speaks of Iridium Satellites! You know.... Like the ones Li Ka-Shing's company covering every square inch of the globe with overlapping to boot!

Yes, yes, yes.... I know! There's a zapper and a virus solution, right? And what happens the second they decide to take their surveillance satellites that can read the date and mint stamp on a dime and snap a shot of the immediate area where an RFID has been zapped or infected? How long will it take them to arrest the "offending" party? Why arrest them? Just point one of the weaponized satellites on their ass and fry them on the spot. Or ... use the "active denial" option and stun the whole area and then search everyone and find the offending party and put a bullet in his head as a lesson to standers-by, eh?

3G RFID Tag Sharpens Asset Visibility for Defense Depot

March 15, 2005

Demonstrating the next model in a long line of in-transit visibility enhancement technology, the U.S. Defense Distribution Depot in Susquehanna, Pa. (DDSP) in January placed a 3G radio frequency identification (RFID) prototype tag on four outbound pallets.

"The prototype tags function just as the current RFID tags but with one added benefit – it 'phones home' from any position around the world," said Mark Lieberman, Defense Distribution Center (DDC) supply management specialist.

Using the Iridium network of global satellites, the prototype is a combination unit that includes a traditional RFID tag along with global positioning system and satellite capabilities, giving defense transportation personnel access to the tag's location – within feet of its exact position.

As materiel release orders flowed in to DDSP (the U.S. Department of Defense’s largest warehouse and the eastern strategic distribution platform for military supplies), personnel from various federal agencies and private technology companies worked alongside DDSP information technology staff to write shipment data onto the 3G prototype tags.

"With the 410 tag that we currently use, we know when it passes through a portal [or interrogator], and when it passes through another portal, but we need visibility of where that shipment is in the meantime and the 3G will give us that ability," said Lieberman.

As the Defense Logistics Agency’s lead center for distribution, DDC is committed to minimizing customers’ uncertainty in the supply chain and ensuring that war fighters receive the materiel they need, when they need it and with complete order-status information from the time of order fulfillment until delivery.

"This new technology will further enhance our in-transit visibility capabilities on a global scale," said Logistics Management Specialist Jeff Fee of the Logistics Transformation Agency. The 3G RFID tag will allow the capability to pin-point the exact location of supplies at any given time anywhere in the world.

The infrastructure of RF readers and interrogators that read a tag when it passes by do not exist in many of the places that military supplies are being shipped – including Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Africa. The 3G prototype can be programmed to communicate via satellite with the worldwide Radio Frequency/in-transit visibility servers that send the data to several sources including the Global Transportation Network, providing its identification number (used to access information about the shipment), the date and time, as well as current position to within 3.5 feet, even when it travels beyond the existing RF infrastructure.

This ability to operate in technologically austere environments will not only help with current military missions but will also aid in expediting deployment in the future to any location in the world, regardless of the presence of RF infrastructure or electricity.

The prototype tags, along with traditional ST-410 RFID tags, were attached to four pallets at DDSP:

Automobile engines going to Tikrit, Iraq.
Camouflage netting bound for Kuwait.
Mixed freight including Humvee components destined for Kosovo and Bosnia.
Vehicle parts kits and Humvee radiators heading to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

"We've put two tags on each pallet, the 3G prototype and the ST-410, to validate that the prototype is being read. If we get six hits off of the current tag and only five off the prototype, then we know improvements are necessary," said Lieberman.

The prototype RFID tag was developed by a collaboration of three private industry companies. Working for the government's Logistics Transformation Agency, Ocean Systems Engineering Corp. was the lead contractor responsible for the tag's design and development. It worked with NAL Research Corp. to integrate the device components and with Savi Technologies Inc. for hardware and engineering support.

After the 3G tags arrive at their final destinations in Afghanistan, Kuwait, Iraq, Bosnia and Kosovo, Army Field Service Engineers will collect the tags and compare the data to that collected from the ST-410 to see if all the information was successfully transmitted and received.

Those four prototype tags will then be sent to DDC's other strategic distribution platform, Defense Distribution Depot San Joaquin, Calif., where the test will be performed again on shipments heading to Asia and the Pacific.

Full deployment of the 3G tag is not expected for several years. "We’re still in the early stages of testing this prototype and we consider this the proof-of-concept phase," said DLA Supply Systems Analyst Gene Bransfield. "This technology may be particularly useful in tracking sensitive or critical shipments."

Once the 3G tags are fully implemented, they will allow transportation personnel to monitor shipments as they move through the supply chain to ensure that they are transported in a timely manner and along the correct route, an ability necessary for the new era of sense-and-respond logistics.

Sense-and-respond logistics is a concept that relies on sensors, communication networks, and the effective transfer of information and feedback to decide when supplies will be delivered, in what manner, and from where.

Today, customers can access the RF/in-transit visibility or Global Transportation Network servers by computer to track their shipments throughout the supply pipeline. In the future, they will also have the capability to access the 3G tags by e-mail to modify reporting characteristics including reporting frequency.

Another feature being considered for the 3G RFID tag is to add temperature and humidity sensors. When the tag encounters conditions that are too hot, too cold, too wet or too dry for the contents of the shipment, the unit will automatically activate itself and send a communication to the server notifying defense transportation personnel of the unfavorable conditions.

This article was written by Jessica Walter-Groft with the Defense Distribution Center.
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Post by smadewell » 04-05-2006 10:49 PM

The 2007 DoD RFID Summit Objectives

The Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Supply Chain Integration) has taken the lead to facilitate the implementation of the RFID Policy within the DoD and is sponsoring the DoD RFID Summit for Industry to provide information on:

• The Implementation Plan - review of the roadmap that targets critical distribution functions within the Defense Distribution Depots and strategic aerial ports

• Scheduled implementation timeline and requirements for suppliers based on procurement methods, classes/commodities, location and layers of packaging

• Technical details on RFID technology compliance

• Review of DoD Implementations and Lessons Learned

• Review and Discussion of DoD Supplier Implementations and Lessons Learned

• Showcase of RFID technology providers

Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Logistics & Materiel Readiness)
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Post by smadewell » 04-05-2006 10:51 PM

Improving RFID Technology
by Jeffrey D. Fee and Alan Schmack March-April 2005

Since 1993, the Army has been pursuing the use of active radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to gain in-the-box visibility for both deploying equipment and sustainment stocks. Use of RFID tags was a response to lessons learned from Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1990 and 1991. Since then, growth in the use of tags clearly shows that RFID has become a very important part of today’s Total Asset Visibility plan.

Initially, tag use was limited to demonstrations in places such as Haiti and Macedonia. In November and December 1995, U.S. Army Europe deployed to Bosnia as part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Implementation Force with approximately 35 percent of its items tagged. By the spring of 1999, approximately 70 percent of all items moved for the Kosovo Force were tagged. Both the Army Reserve and Eighth U.S. Army in Korea received RFID-tagged sustainment stocks from Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) depots on the east and west coasts of the United States. In 2001, approximately 85 percent of equipment and sustainment stocks shipped from DLA that flowed into Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan had RFID tags. In 2002, the commander of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) released a message requesting that 100 percent of the items moving into, through, or out of the CENTCOM area of responsibility be tagged to permit nodal asset visibility. On 30 July 2004, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics released a policy letter stating that “all DOD [Department of Defense] components will immediately resource and implement the use of high data capacity active RFID in the DOD operational environment.”

The Present

Active RFID tags require fixed infrastructure, such as read interrogators, to provide in-transit visibility at different nodes of the supply chain. However, the best visibility that this capability can provide is a pretty good fix on where equipment was last detected, not necessarily where it is currently located.

Even with the robust active RFID infrastructure currently in place, immediate asset visibility is not possible when deploying into austere environments. The fastest that the Army and DOD have been able to set up a fixed RFID infrastructure in an austere environment is approximately 2 to 4 weeks. By that time, under normal operational tempo for an ongoing operation in the deployment stage, combat equipment and supplies have already moved through the intermediate staging base. This leaves the RFID infrastructure to play catchup, which, of course, never happens until much later in the operation.

Fixed RFID infrastructure also adds materiel to an already overburdened support system. Power is required for the RFID interrogator and the computer that collects the data and provides them to the in-transit visibility servers. RFID also requires communications (by phone, local area network, or satellite) to report the location and asset information collected by the computer. Contractor logistics support is needed to install and maintain this fixed infrastructure, which adds to the security burden of area commanders. Power, communications, and contractor logistics support are not always available when and where they are needed, particularly during the beginning stages of a deployment.

Lessons learned from Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom show that the best we can expect from the current RFID capability, as technically efficient as it is, is to know where supplies and equipment were, not where they are.

The Future

Although demand for active RFID has increased greatly, the technology has hardly changed in the last decade. The first step in creating the next generation of RFID tagging systems for asset tracking is taking three commercial-off-the-shelf products (the current standard DOD RFID system, a commercial global positioning system [GPS], and an Iridium satellite) and integrating them into one to create a new, enhanced capability.

RFID integrated with satellite communications and a GPS results in a single device that can overcome the “where is it now?” asset tracking problem. A prototype of this new capability being tested by the Army Logistics Transformation Agency is called Third Generation Radio Frequency Identification with Satellite Communications (3G RFID w/SATCOM). It has the potential to provide DOD with unprecedented on-demand supply and equipment in-transit visibility without fixed infrastructure. These new tags maintain all of the capabilities of their predecessors and, through the use of satellite and GPS, allow for true, up-to-the-moment global asset tracking.

The 3G RFID w/SATCOM system would be particularly useful in the beginning stages of a deployment, when regional combatant, joint task force, and other commanders find that their asset management information needs are most critical, by helping them in assessing their combat effectiveness. Under these circumstances, commanders require near-real-time and on-demand visibility.


This view of a prototype 3G RFID tag shows the Iridium satellite and GPS boards within the tag. These boards give the 3G RFID tag its satellite communications capability.

The pursuit of Total Asset Visibility remains a critical element in achieving Focused Logistics and Sense-and-Respond Logistics concepts. The 3G RFID w/SATCOM system will take a huge step forward in attaining these goals. For the past decade, the Army has been using active RFID technology to gain asset visibility. Today’s capability provides information on where equipment was, not where it is. Additional RFID infrastructure is needed, which likely will increase the burden on an already taxed support system. While potentially reducing or eliminating the current fixed infrastructure, 3G RFID tags will provide unprecedented in-transit visibility. This increased visibility will enable the modernization of theater distribution and will be a key tool in connecting logisticians. ALOG

Jeffrey D. Fee is an action officer at the Army Logistics Transformation Agency at Fort belvoir, Virginia. He is the project leader for Third Generation Radio Frequency Identification with Satellite Communications.

Alan Schmack is a logistics management specialist at the Army Logistics Transformation Agency at Fort belvoir, Virginia.
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Post by smadewell » 04-07-2006 12:31 PM

RFID JOURNAL - THE WORLD'S RFID AUTHORITY

Yo! Yo! Yo! Sup, peeps? Dis here S-Master Smade, d'thread killer'z in d'HOUSE; bringin' it to ya; keepin' it for reals! Game over, Homies! D'Man gots us by d'short' uns, ya know wha' i mean? Word up! Break it down!
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