p2pnet.net News:- Mexican attorney general Rafael Macedo de la Concha announced last month that he has a RFID (radio-frequency identification) spy chip embedded in his arm.

He also said people in his office are similarly tagged, according to a VOA (Voice of America) broadcast transcript.

And a state prison has approved a $415,000 contract to try out the tracking technology, says a ZDNet story here.

“The Ross Correctional Facility in Chillicothe, Ohio, will be the site of the pilot project.” it says. “If all goes well, the technology could eventually be used in all of the state’s 33 facilities.”

It doesn’t say if the chips would be removed once the prisoners were released.

RFID spy chips, touted principally as a means of tracking of stock and for keeping tabs on inventories, could also be used to track people without their knowledge or consent, civil rights advocates fear.

And it was precisely this kind of concern that led Germany’s Lukas Grunwald and Boris Wolf to create RFDump to detect RFID-tags and show their meta information: Tag ID, Tag Type, manufacturer etc.

Now read on >>>>>>>>>>>>

SCIENCE IN THE NEWS
VOA - August 3

VOICE ONE:
Many business leaders are excited about a technology known as radio frequency identification. R.F.I.D. technology sends information to a central computer about the location of products in factories, stores and other places.

The system uses radio signals to communicate between a tiny electronic device and a reader. The device is a microchip only a few millimeters in size. The chip stores information. The reader can collect the information from up to ten meters away or, with some systems, from much farther.

Radio frequency identification has existed for years. But recent improvements make it much less costly. Business leaders say they expect R.F.I.D. systems to be in general use around the world within five to ten years.

VOICE TWO:
The recent improvements are largely the result of efforts by the huge American company Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart officials wanted to improve the way the company follows its products to its thousands of stores. So, as their first step, they told their top one-hundred suppliers to start using R.F.I.D. devices by January of next year.

The United States Defense Department also wants its suppliers to use R.F.I.D systems. Reports say the Wal-Mart and Defense Department decisions will together affect more than fifty-thousand suppliers.

VOICE ONE:
The European Union is considering the use of such systems in money to help prevent illegal copying of euros. And interest grows. Libraries place radio frequency identification devices in books. Hospitals put chips on medicine bottles.

Animal owners place the devices under the skin of pets to help locate them in case of trouble. Some humans have chips under their skin for the same reason.

The attorney general of Mexico, Rafael Macedo de la Concha, announced last month that he has a chip in his arm. He said other people in his office are also equipped with the devices. One reason is security. The chip will permit them to enter a new center with a secure computer system for crime investigators in Mexico. Also, Mister Macedo said the chip could be used to locate someone who is attacked or kidnapped.

VOICE TWO:
New and different uses are being found for radio frequency identification chips. Some people are concerned. They worry that the increasing use of this technology will threaten a person’s right to privacy.

Chips can be used to follow the movements of individual products or shipments. The devices can also warn a business if someone tries to steal. But critics say the technology might be used to collect information on people who buy the products. Also, employers could use the technology to record the movements of workers who wear identification with a chip inside.

Makers of R.F.I.D. systems say they recognize that the technology could be used to violate people’s rights. These companies say privacy is their biggest area of research. They say they are working to make sure their technology is not a threat to people.

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