Trash can spyware
p2pnet.net News:- Poking around in trash cans is an essential part of the private investigator’s art. But now local councils in Britain are taking it up, using RFID spy chips.
Thousands have been “secretly planted” in thousands of British household wheelie bins,” says Computerworld. The plan is for the chips to, “transmit information about the contents of the bins to a central database which then keeps records on the waste disposal habits of each individual address,” says the story, going on:
“Already some 500,000 bins in council districts across England have been fitted with the bugs – with nearly all areas expected to follow suit within the next couple of years.”
The speed of RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) development is unbelievable, says Chris McDermott, director of notags.co.uk.
Because of the controversial nature of RFID (the way that it can track objects and people silently and remotely) it is vital that councils come clean about what they want to use it for,” he says. “Otherwise they stand accused of setting up a covert monitoring system that could have much wider applications in the future than those currently being discussed.”
Nor will it stop with council’s simply wanting to weigh the bins, says McDermott, adding:
“Before you know it, they’ll be scanning the actual products, wrappers, and other detritus that you throw away inside the bin, as these are also scheduled to be RFID `enabled` in the near future. Everything could be scanned and logged so that those with access to the database can find out exactly what you are throwing away – and almost by default what you actually own and buy.”
Notags is calling for a spy chip bin ban, “until a full and open debate has taken place so that people can have a full understanding as to what this technology can do and its likely use in the future”.
Also See:
Computerworld – RFID “bin brother” brouhaha (and cool USB hubs), August 28, 2006
notags.co.uk – Notags outraged but not surprised by `Bin Brother` news, August 28, 2006
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August 30th, 2006 at 2:40 am
Some day everyone is going to wake up and realize that the weirdos wearing the tinfoil hats were right all along. By that time it will be too late I’m sure. I’ve always burned personally identifiable garbage, anything of a sensitive nature that isn’t needed anymore, but still hearing about things like this is worrisome to say the least. Hmm, think I’m going to watch ‘V for Vendetta’ again tonight. Was a pretty good movie IMHO.