Maybe the problems are built right in, “We decided on the name “TRAZE” for our brand of RFID products, considering that RFID is a “Track and RAce” technology; “Z” was used instead of “C” to denote ‘the spirit of Zorro’ which is the passion, energy and excitement that we have for this technology.”  Pradhyumna Venkat CEO, GEMINI TRAZE (India’s prime RFID manufacturer

Who could have predicted that RFID’s in our pockets  with hackable identifying codes could lead to privacy concerns.Vermont and Washington State are using and testing enhanced drivers ID with RFID’s for easier fast border crossing. California and Washington have passed anti RFID hacking laws .But with a $ 190.00 tag reader from EBay a man in California easily hacked passers by identifying codes.

Unlikely but perhaps Senator Lieberman’s Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will jump into action on this with a little oversight on this potential privacy problem. Is privacy still dismissed as a pre 9-11 concern or have we entered a post post pre 9-11 era?

……his scanner detected, then downloaded to his laptop, the unique serial numbers of two pedestrians’ electronic U.S. passport cards embedded with radio frequency identification, or RFID, tags. Within an hour, he’d “skimmed” the identifiers of four more of the new, microchipped PASS cards from a distance of 20 feet

Among new options are the chipped “e-passport,” and the new, electronic PASS card – credit-card sized, with the bearer’s digital photograph and a chip that can be scanned through a pocket, backpack or purse from 30 feet.

……..”enhanced” driver’s licenses embedded with RFID tags now being issued in some border states: Washington, Vermont, Michigan and New York. Texas and Arizona have entered into agreements with the federal government to offer chipped licenses, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has recommended expansion to non-border states. Kansas and Florida officials have received DHS briefings on the licenses, agency records show..

The purpose of using RFID is not to identify people, says Mary Ellen Callahan, the chief privacy officer at Homeland Security, but rather “to verify that the identification document holds valid information about you.”

http://www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-us-chipping-america-iv,0,6091908.story

http://www.thehindubusinesslin…