October 25, 2004

Radio Dazed

It seems like RFID, the little tags that can be hidden in merchandise and read by a scanner from a distance, may not be as big a threat to privacy as feared, at least not at first:

Unexpected sources such as bug zappers and radio towers can wreak havoc on a radio-frequency identification deployment. At least, that's what IBM Global Services has discovered at Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

IBM has tested RFID equipment in the back-room grocery sections of
seven pilot Wal-Mart stores, in support of the retailer's RFID
project, which officially kicks off Jan. 1. During the deployment, IBM
consultants have encountered interference from handheld devices such
as walkie-talkies, forklifts, and other devices typically found in
distribution facilities. And nearby cell-phone towers, which transmit
at the high end of the frequency band, sometimes leak unwanted radio
waves into the RFID readers. Bug zappers in the back rooms of the test
stores also caused interference.

Laurie Sullivan, InformationWeek

Of course, they are working on fixing the readers so they don't get confused by stray RF, but the devices aren't the end of privacy as we know it.

Posted on October 25, 2004 10:30 PM