"It seems as if the path to instant notoriety as a technology guru these days is to find fault -- real or imagined -- with some form of RFID. RFID is a hot topic and one that most people don't (or won't) understand, which makes it easy to misrepresent. So, for those who'd like to become an overnight celebrity, herewith, the 10 ten things you need to do to become a messenger of panic and doom."
I found this story posted on Bruce Sterling's blog and found it pretty hysterical in a geekish sense. Incidentally, I toyed with the looming specter of RFID identification not too long ago (in an ironic way, of course).
1 comment:
Some good points there. There is much hysteria. On the other hand, the problems are also very real. Here's my responses to the list items.
10. So what should we call them, then?
9. Ummm... ok. Except that often other apparently unrelated privacy issues show motive.
8. But "they" are real. Of course, who "they" are depends on what we're talking about. In this case, "they" are the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and retail industries. History has proven time and time again that if a nefarious use of a technology is possible, it will occur. It's not irrational paranoia to explore and plan for the nefarious uses in advance of implementation.
Oh, and "they" already do everything they can to track everyone. It's called "targeted marketing", so I, along with you, are special enough that there already exists a sophisticated, world-wide, multi-trillion-dollar network to track us. It just doesn't widely use RFID to do it. Yet. RFID impacts this network by reducing the costs and increasing the level of detail.
7. The RFID industry cannot resolve some of the problematic security issues. It's technically impossible without destroying the benefit of RFID.
6. Yes, people make this mistake all the time. You can use a smaller antenna, but you have to power the vhip if you do. one way or another, there's something physically large supporting the chip.
5. See #8
4. I'm not quite sure what this is talking about. I haven't personally seen those kinds of statements.
3. The RFID opponents I hear from are fully aware that metal blocks weak radio signals. That's why the tin-foil hats.
2. This is supremely disingenuous. Oh, OK, it's deceptive. It's a lie. On my page a while back, I even ran a link telling you how to build a device to do just this. The noise issue is important, but is far from a showstopper.
1. Act as you truly believe your own hype about how RFID is a completely innocuous technology whose few problems can be readily resolved, instead?
The plain fact is that RFID is technology with strengths and weaknesses, like any other. It has a legitimate role to play. Tracking palletts of product in the warehouse? Sure thing!
Put them into ID cards, credit cards, or your body as a form of identification? Guaranteed disaster. Sooner or later you will be "cloned".
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