Tiny IDs can track almost anything (a bug in underwear)

Wahington Times ^ | 06/09/03 | Audrey Hudson

[_Jim]

Will police or law enforcement have to get a warrant to scan your house?

The rule should simply be this tag must be easily identified and removable by the purchaser.

The 'range' from a moderately-sized 'scanner' isn't going to be very far -

- What ... do you think that you want a WHOLE WHAREHOUSE full of ID tags responding when a single box containing only 50 widgets is being scanned?

[_Jim]

criminals will have a new way to make lots of money,

... not to mention the continuous scamming the press pulls on us daily (yes, even the Wash Times is guilty of this) ...

[FreeInWV]

Buy only used firearms in good condition. Start reloading.

Or bury all of the chips and boxes in your least favorite neighbor's yard.

[AnnaZ]

"We have the technology and a roadmap that takes us there," Mr. Pound said.

 

;^)

[El Gato]

These bugs are PASSIVE devices, and aren't really bugs in the sense that they can reveal anthing besides what is pre-stored on them. They are only usefull within a few tens of feet of a tranmitter/receiver unit that "stimulates" the tag. They have no power source of their own. The location technology is all part of the receiver/transmitter, not part of the "tag" istelf. You could probably burn them out without too much trouble using the appropriate frequency of EM waves, and with no damage to any nearby organic material, like your a$$, although certain sensitive parts, such as your eyes and for the men, the testes, might need to be shielded, as levels that would burn out the little chips, might damage these sensitive organs.

[El Gato]

Probably be in currency, think I'll set up a lead wallet company.

An aluminum foil lining would do nicely.

[El Gato]

Nothing that about 4 seconds in the microwave can't handle

I'm not sure about that. Some reports claim that if they are small enough they aren't affected by microwave.

Actually microwave frequencies, just above 1 GHz are too high, rather than too low, if these devices operate at 434 MHz. You might zap their metalization though. Like putting a cup with a painted on gold band on it into the microwave. Zap..crackle..melt.

[El Gato]

Well, the article mentions veing able to find things around the world, like lost shipments and such.

From the article: "No more lost or misdirected shipments"

The range is very short, tens of feet/yards. The power comes from the transmitter/receiver of the "reader" not from the tag, whics is a passive device. In principal it doesn't do anything a barcode couldn't do, except that you don't ahve to get nearly so close, dirt and grime aren't as big a problem, and you don't have have the "reader" as precisely aligned.

You find the shipment when it turns up somewhere it's not supposed to be, and the tracking system reads it's tag(s) and figures out that it's not where it's supposed to be, and contacts the origin and desitination to notify them that it has been found. You don't search the whole world for it, only in places with readers very nearby.

[El Gato]

Perhaps they should try reading the lables on the boxes.

The boxes are likely covered by several layers of semi-opaque shrink wrap.

I find it interesting that police have to get a warrent to plant a bug, but a manufacturer does not.

To call it a "bug" is something of a misnomer, it's a tracking and ID device. All it can tell you is what the thing it's attached to is, and maybe some other information about the article.

[certify]

PoliceState

[Paul C. Jesup]

In the future I see a market for high-powered eletro-magnets.

[certify]

Jun 07, 2003

Smart Tag data shared with law enforcement
BY PETER BACQUE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER


Virginia law enforcement authorities are using records from the state's Smart Tag electronic highway-toll-collection system in their investigations.

Though the Virginia Department of Transportation has been subpoenaed for the electronic toll-system records, it also hands over the records of vehicle movements to police without requiring a court order, the department said.

Law enforcement officials subpoenaed Smart Tag records in the investigation of the deadly anthrax mail attack in the Washington area in 2001, department officials said.

Police also requested Powhite Parkway Smart Tag records in the case of Carrie Ann Williams, a Chesterfield County Hooters waitress shot to death here in October, one Transportation Department official said.

However, VDOT officials would not discuss details of the police requests.

Governments collect large amounts of information on their residents: driver, tax, court, education and medical records. What is different about Smart Tag records is they directly track a person's everyday movements.

While Smart Tags are largely concentrated in the Richmond, Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads areas, they are widely used in those regions, officials said.

Active Smart Tags are stuck to the windshields of more than 400,000 Virginia vehicles, or about 6 percent of all the motor vehicles registered in the state.

Smart Tags - which work only on toll facilities in Virginia - ring up more than 100 million electronic toll transactions a year. During peak daily traffic periods, more than 75 percent of all toll payments are made by Smart Tag.

Transportation Department spokeswoman Tamara Neale said it is subpoenaed rarely for information - "over a dozen" times in the last few years.

One of those requests came from a fire department in Northern Virginia trying to track down an arsonist.

However, VDOT does not demand that police have a court order to obtain such information from its Smart Tag system.

"We have provided Smart Tag information for criminal investigations that relate to activities of a specific car," she said. "We've done so without a subpoena."

Two subpoenas for Smart Tag records have been issued to the department so far this year, according to VDOT's Ken Wester, who is temporarily overseeing the toll-collection program.

Virginia's Smart Tag system exists at the intersection of concern over transportation efficiency, individual privacy, technological capability and community safety.

"Public safety is, certainly, a core responsibility of government," said Col. W. Gerald Massengill, superintendent of the Virginia State Police. "But just as important as public safety is our responsibility to protect your privacy."

Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, police agencies have gone into hyperdrive to deter terrorists before they can act. "In many cases," Massengill said, "that equates to gathering information. In today's world, that does equate to use of technology.

"It spawns a lot of debate," the state police superintendent said, "over 'Big Brother' watching [the public's] movements."

Moving about without being tracked by government is one of a free society's most fundamental rights, said Kent Willis, the ACLU of Virginia's executive director.

Before the advent of ubiquitous computer-information systems, the public had a kind of "functional privacy" about their movements, Willis said - simply because government could not easily trace people's movements.

"If you think of government's principal job as existing to maintain a secure environment, then it will always be inclined to collect as much information about an individual as possible," he said.

"The more information the government has on more individuals, the less free you are."

Virginia's Smart Tag operation has the names, addresses, phone numbers, credit-card numbers, driver's license numbers and vehicle license numbers of its customers.

It also records the date, time and location - down to the highway toll plaza and lane number - for every use of the tag.

"We're talking about huge quantities of transactions," said VDOT's Miriam Daughtry, who was the system's director until February, when she took another job in the department.

"We are very protective of the information and are sensitive to the privacy issues," Neale said. "Many VDOT employees have their own Smart Tags as well" and "are just as sensitive to privacy issues as anyone else."

Over the years, the department said, marketing companies, estranged spouses, investigative firms and credit-collection agencies have asked for Smart Tag data.

"We have also received inquiries from patrons requesting reassurance that access to the data they provide is restricted."

"Access by outside parties is not routinely allowed," VDOT said on its Web site under the heading "VDOT's Smart Tag - Protecting Patron Privacy."

"In some instances, however, we allow the sharing of patron information." The highway agency releases Smart Tag information:

to law enforcement agencies for criminal investigations;
to comply with subpoenas or court orders;
to track repeat violators.
VDOT says it takes requests for information on Smart Tag customer accounts from police in person, in writing or by telephone.

"Subpoenas and court orders are reviewed," the department said. "If questionable, they are forwarded to the . . . attorney general prior to responding."

When people or private organizations request data for research, "we provide summary information on Smart Tag accounts," Neale said, such as the systemwide total number of monthly transactions, the number of Smart Tags in use and the revenues from the program.

"But VDOT will not release information on a specific account, except for the three circumstances listed," she said.


Contact Peter Bacque at (804) 649-6813 or pbacque@timesdispatch.com


This story can be found at: http://timesdispatch.com/news/vametro/MGB2ZRLYMGD.html

[Paul C. Jesup]

So, point out what that has to do with my post.

[certify]

Satellite tracking will drive up cost of school run
By Francis Elliott, Deputy Political Editor
(Filed: 08/06/2003)


Commuters and parents who drive their children to school are facing much heavier charges to use the roads under Government proposals to install satellite tracking devices in cars.

Alistair Darling, the Transport Secretary, said last night that he favoured the technology, which will enable the Government to levy new road tolls to punish drivers who use their cars during peak hours.

Mr Darling claimed last night that the introduction of variable tolls, or road pricing, was the only alternative to building roads.

Schools may be forced to stagger the times when they open and close to alleviate the strain on the urban road network, Mr Darling has revealed in an interview clearly designed to start a national debate on transport priorities.

"You can't build your way out of the problem that we face," he said. "We have a choice in the next 25 to 30 years: either we build more and more motorways - astronomically expensive, environmentally damaging, and I doubt if we could actually do it - or we take a radically different look at how we manage the system."

Mr Darling added that he was "surprised" that more councils had not followed the London Mayor Ken Livingstone's lead in developinga flat-rate congestion charge.

A spokesman from the RAC said it wants any new road tolls to be offset by a cut in other taxes on motorists.

[basil]

Well, actually I won't need a Y2K thingee---I already have one--LOL! (but maybe you'd like to make me an offer on some duct tape and plastic sheeting!)

[American in Israel]

I looked up these chips and they are passive reactive devices. They are powered by the reader and have no independent power source. The maximum distance they can be read is nine feet. So to fear them as tracking devices to be used against people is a bit far fetched. The only way these could be used is to tie the id number of the chip to the credit card that purchased it. Then at that point as you walk in the store the store would be able to tell you came back. But for tracking you down the street, it is useless.

The chip itself is harmless, but the implications of where the technology is going is not.

As for the chips, an white noise amplitude modulated carrier on the transponder frequency jams them. A very interesting chip, they effectively short out a tuned circuit in "Morse code" to dip the transmitters own output level. To detect them would be pretty easy too. But emp killing them would be pretty hard I think. The receiver coil feeds the chips power supply, not a sensitive front end.

[KneelBeforeZod]

Computer chips the size of grains of sand have become the latest trend among manufacturers seeking to track everything from automobiles to underwear to razor blades.

thats why I recently started changing my underwear every day.

[certify]

Wal-Mart to throw its weight behind RFID


By Richard Shim
Staff Writer, CNET News.com
June 5, 2003, 2:41 PM PT


Inventory management technology that uses wireless signals to track products from the factory to store shelves is set to win a major new ally next week: Wal-Mart.








The retail giant is expected to throw its weight behind RFID (radio frequency identification) technology at the Retail Systems 2003 industry conference in Chicago on Tuesday. Sources familiar with the company's plans said executives will make a presentation encouraging its top 100 suppliers to start using wireless inventory tracking equipment--chips affixed to products, and scanners in warehouses--by 2005.

Wal-Mart's endorsement of RFID gives an important boost to efforts to overhaul the world's supply chains, a makeover that could provide a shot in the arm for technology companies struggling to find buyers for the latest products and services. RFID is expensive, but backers say it offers long-term benefits that could dwarf the impact of the bar code on inventory control and distribution.




RFID spending will be "bigger than...Y2K," predicted AMR Research analyst Pete Abell. "I imagine there will be a rush on investing in RFID."

Suppliers are already exploring the use of RFID technology in tracking goods from the factory to warehouses. But backing from retailers is considered important because it could ultimately allow products to be tracked on store shelves.

Executives from Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart are expected to aggressively push for the adoption of RFID technology during a presentation at an upcoming event for retailers, suppliers and distributors, sources said. Part of the discussion will involve the significance of standards development and its effect on the widespread adoption throughout the supply chain.

Wal-Mart representatives did not return calls for comment.

RFID tags have the potential to streamline and improve inventory management by allowing manufacturers to more efficiently enter and track the flow of goods. For example, RFID could let a company add a boxful of goods to its inventory systems all at once, without having to unpack the carton and scan each piece separately. An RFID scanner can pick up signals from all the chips in the sealed box, something bar code systems can't do.

The cost savings could be substantial for Wal-Mart, the world's biggest retailer with sales of $217.8 billion in 2002. AMR's Abell estimates that Wal-Mart's costs associated with supply chain--including storing, transporting and keeping track of goods--are about 10 percent of overall sales. RFID, Abell said, could save 6 percent to 7 percent of those costs annually. Using the 2002 figures as a model, that would amount to about $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion saved.

Such savings are an attractive brass ring, but installing the technology is no small task. Wal-Mart suppliers "may find it difficult to meet the early 2005 time frame," Abell said.

Problems aside, chip and equipment makers are already gearing up for expected demand.

"In 2004, we are going to see a broad range of serious (RFID) pilots," said Vinny Luciano, vice president of product management, mobile computing systems, at Symbol Technologies. "We'll see full-scale rollouts of RFID systems in 2005. It's not too soon to start looking at the impact of RFID on business and what the opportunities will be."

In the past, Wal-Mart has helped to promote other technologies that have helped to streamline inventory and supply-chain management. Teaming with K-Mart and other retailers in the 1980s, Wal-Mart helped to promote the use of bar code scanning.

A bar code standard was approved in 1973, but by 1984 only 15,000 suppliers were using codes on their products. Wal-Mart threw its weight behind bar codes in 1984, and by 1987 there were 75,000 suppliers using bar codes, according to AMR Research.

As it looks to cut costs, Wal-Mart has been quicker with its support of RFID technology than with bar codes. And others are following, such as CVS, Target, Lowe's and Home Depot.

RFID-related technologies such as EPC (Electronic Product Codes) are gradually gaining industry support, which should help penetration.

"While still being developed, EPC will be a common method of tracking inventories and objects using RFID technology," said Ian McPherson, analyst with Wireless Data Research Group. "The two are related in the same way that bar codes and scanners are related."

EPC is being developed by the Auto-ID Center and the Uniform Code Council, and many see it becoming commonplace in pallets and cases over the next five years, according to Paul Fox, a Gillette representative.

Although cartons and pallets are the focus of RFID now, the technology isn't expected to truly take off until RFID tags are used on store shelves to give more up-to-date information on sales and in-store inventory. Trials are ongoing, but cost is the major hitch with such tags.

Currently tags cost 50 cents to 60 cents apiece. To be practical for manufacturers to use, they'll have to drop to around 5 cents, according to Dave Krebs, an analyst with research firm VDC.

"As volumes increase, prices will come down, but suppliers don't really have an incentive at this point," Krebs said. "They are footing the majority of the tag cost, and retailers are reaping a majority of the benefit."

Krebs added that for the benefits of supply chain, products have to be tagged at the source: suppliers.

A large retail company issuing favorable terms or promotions for suppliers could certainly encourage the adoption of the technology.


"Right now, everyone involved in RFID technology is examining the cost ramifications, but we're optimistic that the price hurdles will be overcome," said Fox, who said the tags can be had already for as low as 10 cents each. "The cost of tags and readers will decrease over time."

News.com's Alorie Gilbert contributed to this report.