Monday, February 20, 2006

A Question or 3 on RFID

First, this article in the LATimes:

When Congress rushed passage of the Real ID Act last spring, the idea was to foil terrorists.

States would be required to replace their current drivers' licenses with forgery-proof identification cards embedded with private information that government agents anywhere in the country could quickly scan to verify a person's identity.

he federal government has yet to draft regulations for the program that would dictate what kind of technology states must use. But privacy advocates are particularly concerned about one option being considered, Radio Frequency Identification Technology, in which an embedded microchip contains information that can be read with a scanner. The technology is widely used in government and business, for such things as package tracking and the Fastrak highway toll collection system.

The GAO report, meanwhile, noted that misuse of the data is not limited to criminals. For instance, the government could place scanners in public places to track movements of citizens. The report says the chip could also be used to create profiles that "ascertain something about the individual's habits, tastes or predilections."

The main gist of the article was about California's antiquated DMV computer system and the fact that there are few people left that understand its language. Runes?

Anyway, Here's the setup: We're eventually going to get RFID in our daily lives whether it's in our Driver's Licenses or our Prefrontal Lobes. Inquiring minds want to know, whether we like it or not. Privacy is in danger of becoming a thing of the past, that "goddam piece of paper" - the Constitution - be damned.

Here's the question: What's a good way to disable these things?

If it's in my Driver's License (Should I ever get one - it's a rhetorical question at this point), perhaps placing it in a bowl of water and ten minutes in the microwave. Maybe no water, but what would it do to the microwave? Could you smack it with a hammer without leaving a mark? How do you fry the sonofabitch and leave no trace?

Obviously, if it's implanted in your head, those methods won't work. Well, they might, but...

Tattoo needle, maybe? Lasik? Wha...?

C'mon, gang. Chemist? BadTux? One of you knowledgeable computer or electronics types? High explosives are not the answer I'm lookin' for, so chill, F-Man.

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