Privacy and RFID

An interesting article was posted here the other day discussing privacy issues related to RFID or "Radio Frequency Identification". This process is defined as "The process of using an electrical transponder which stores information that can be used to identify the item to which the transponder is attached, similar to the way in which a bar code on a label stores information that can be used to identify the item to which the label is attached.”

The article sites a report by the privacy commissioner of Canada (Jennifer Stoddart) in which she discusses the threats of RFID to privacy, in particular the ability to track individual’s movements. “Identifying items people wear or carry could associate them with particular events — for example, political rallies or protests”. Manufactures argue that while it is possible to do this, it would cost billions of dollars claiming that GPS (Global Positioning System) is not compatible with RFID.

Tagged as: pipeda, Privacy, Security, RFID