A couple of stories about Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, those miniature radio transmitters with unique identifiers that are supposed to replace UPC barcodes and let retailers track everything.
The first, in Wired News, is that while WalMart may have shelved its plans to switch over to RFID (something that would have had HUGE implications for the retail world), several companies are pushing RFID tags combined with sensors that might be able to quickly alert us to whether or not food has been tainted with biological or chemical agents. Oh, and it can be used to tell whether food has spoiled too. But the main thing is that they’re trying to get an antiterrorism technology designation for these RFID biosensors, which apparently would shield them from certain legal liabilities.
The other piece, in eWeek, is about how if you’re nervous about corporations, the government, your spouse, the Bilderbergs, or whoever using RFID tags to keep tabs on you, help may be at hand. RSA is working on an “RFID blocker” which would confuse RFID tag readers by simulating all possible tag serial numbers, making it impossible tell which ones are real.
Read – eWeek [Via TechDirt]
