[LINK] Re: RFID in Govt, and in People
Geoff Ramadan
gramadan at umd.com.au
Fri Oct 6 13:42:02 AEST 2006
Kim Holburn wrote:
> On 2006 Oct 05, at 5:38 PM, Geoff Ramadan wrote:
>> Kim Holburn wrote:
>>> On 2006 Oct 05, at 12:07 PM, Eric Scheid wrote:
>>>> On 5/10/06 11:21 AM, "Marghanita da Cruz" <marghanita at ramin.com.au>
>>>> wrote:
>>>>>> What NEW privacy concerns are specifically raised because of RFID?
>>>>
>>>>> It is the ease of tracking that RFID offers over Barcodes that raises
>>>>> issues....identifying people or their habbits by their rubbish bins
>>>>> and
>>>>> their contents, where they live by tracking where the book/clothing
>>>>> goes...are these applications are in the realms of science fiction or
>>>>> now legitimate objectives.
>>>>
>>>> I heard that supermarkets might use RFID to keep an eye on the level of
>>>> various goods on the shelf ... to know when the item is removed from
>>>> the
>>>> shelf. All to do with maintaining inventory levels or something.
>>> Yeah and supermarkets could note what books you are reading, where
>>> you bought your clothes and what credit cards you are carrying as you
>>> pass by a "reading" station?.
>>
>>
>> 1) they don't need RFID to do this, people already freely give this
>> information at the supermarket check out. The recored the barcode of
>> the product, your loyalty card and if they wanted to, they can swipe
>> your credit card.
>
> Huh? Sometimes you have to let the checkout people look in your bag but
> it's usually a quick peep, not a detailed itemisation of your "library
> books" or a barcode reader scan of the inside of your bag.
>
>> 2) you will be most likely given the option to "kill" the RFID tag
>> when you make a retail purchase.
>
> Is it possible to find an RFID tag with a portable device? Is it
> possible to "kill" an RFID tag with a portable device? ;-) (Naughty
> question I know but I had to ask it!)
Kim
You can read RFID tags via portable readers. Given that portable devices run of
batteries, they tend to have limited read range.
I believe the UHF Gen2 kill function will be a command you send to the tag.
I am not sure if all UHF Gen2 RFID tags have implemented this feature
>
>>> On the other hand noting would stop you from creating say, an RFID
>>> jacket with thousands of RFID tags in it, if it were an active device
>>> those tags could change constantly!!!
>>>> Combine that with library cards with RFID chips one might carry in
>>>> one's
>>>> pocket, and They might now be able to track what books people read
>>>> *in* the
>>>> library (ie. the books they *don't* checkout).
>>>>
>>>> The thing is, is this feasible?
>>
>> Possible - if this is a concern, don't issue RFID library cards. There
>> is actually no need for it. Only adds additional cost with no value.
>> Stick to using barcodes.
>
> Even if you're not carrying an RFID library card or the library doesn't
> issue an RFID based card, banks will and the Government might so you may
> still be able to do link RFID books to some RFID-based ID.
The Health Access Card the government is proposing is a CONTACT based smart
card... not a RFID contactless card.
Banks are moving towards EMV credit cards, which are also CONTACT based smart
cards. ...
So I think this scenario is unlikely.
>
>>>> (this prompts another curious question: we've had great and long debate
>>>> about the range for reading RFID, and I've also noted comments about
>>>> RFID
>>>> readers being overwhelmed with too many responses ... but could one
>>>> design
>>>> an RFID reader with very limited range, ideal for scanning the
>>>> smaller set
>>>> of RFIDs physically within 12" only?)
>>
>> Some readers (UHF) can read upto 200 tags per second.
>>
>> Short range RFID tags, are also called "proximity" cards and are
>> typically 5 to 10cm read range. Many of your wireless "access entry"
>> cards are in fact RFID Proximity cards.
>>
>> The read range is limited by design (antenna / power )
>
> Yeah, so you can limit the readers by design, I would have always
> thought you could do this. I expect you can do it in software. There
> is a WiFi AP that allowed you to set a distance beyond which it would
> not respond to clients.
Just reduce the power output.
>
>>> I believe this is what the RFID industry wants us to believe all
>>> readers are like!
>>
>>
>> Sorry I disagree on this point strongly.
>>
>> I go to great pains to tell people that "RFID is not one thing nor one
>> technology" and the problem USERS have is that they "mix" all the
>> technologies and capabilities together to get absurd outcomes.
>
> Hmmm.... not really answering the point. The fact is that it is
> possible to read these things at much greater distances than the
> industry designed readers. I'm sure there are lots of different
> technologies and frequencies involved but none of that precludes reading
> cards at a much greater distance than we are being told.
The standard way to increase read range is by increasing the power to, or gain
of the antenna (or both).
I restrict my discussion to what is legal and conforms to Australian
Communications Authority regulatory regime.
http://www.comlaw.gov.au/comlaw/legislation/legislativeinstrumentcompilation1.nsf/current/bytitle/77D8F3B91989A8ACCA2571B700835FC7?OpenDocument&mostrecent=1
In RFID this is 1W EIRP and 920-926MHz this can be upto 4W EIRP.
Regards
Geoffrey Ramadan, B.E.(Elec)
Chairman, Automatic Data Capture Australia (www.adca.com.au)
and
Managing Director, Unique Micro Design (www.umd.com.au)
>
>
> --
> Kim Holburn
> IT Network & Security Consultant
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