Spy shoes: RFID to be embedded directly into clothing

["Richard M. Smith" <rms () computerbytesman com>]

http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2008/08/14/spy-shoes-rfid-to-be-embedded-dir
ectly-into-clothing/

Protesters gathered Wednesday afternoon at the opening of the
<http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2008/08/14/spy-shoes-rfid-to-be-embedded-di
rectly-into-clothing/> RFID in Fashion conference in New York City to urge
clothing manufacturers and retailers not to embed tracking chips into
articles of clothing.

The industry conference, one of several hosted by RFID Journal magazine,
allows clothing manufacturers to learn the state of the RFID industry and
meet with RFID suppliers and industry executives. RFID, or radio frequency
identification, is a small chip with a unique identifying number which can
be read from as far away as 30 feet. The RFID in Fashion
<http://www.rfidjournalevents.com/fashion/>  conference is being held
Wednesday and Thursday at the Fashion Institute of
<http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2008/08/14/spy-shoes-rfid-to-be-embedded-di
rectly-into-clothing/> Technology in New York.

But at this conference, the industry is urging clothing manufacturers to
embed RFID chips directly into their clothing for purposes of
<http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2008/08/14/spy-shoes-rfid-to-be-embedded-di
rectly-into-clothing/> inventory control and loss prevention, known in the
industry as item-level tagging, according to consumer privacy expert
Katherine Albrecht, who co-authored the book on RFID,
<http://www.amazon.com/dp/0452287669?tag=ioerror-20&link_code=as3&creative=3
73489&camp=211189> Spychips. And that raises what she calls a "privacy
nightmare."

"We're here to let the industry know that consumers don't want tracking
devices in their clothing," Albrecht said. "When they embed [RFID] into
clothing, or shoes, or other items people wear or carry, they can also put
the readers to pick up those signals into floors, doorways, ceiling tiles,
anywhere people go, and use them to track and identify people."

Retailers would create databases linking individual RFID chips to consumers
at the point of purchase, creating a
<http://www.homelandstupidity.us/2008/08/14/spy-shoes-rfid-to-be-embedded-di
rectly-into-clothing/> database of what each person bought which would allow
businesses or governments to keep tabs on every individual passing through a
given area. The technology to accomplish
<http://www.spychips.com/documents/ATT00075.pdf>  this tracking, Albrecht
says, has already been developed.

.

_______________________________________________
Fun and Misc security discussion for OT posts.
https://linuxbox.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/funsec
Note: funsec is a public and open mailing list.