| RFID Tags and Edge Servers
One of the great security concerns for RFID tags relates to its being used in conjunction with edge servers. Quite simply edge servers are the mainframe computers where info from the RFID tag reader is sent, stored, and translated.
People have often spoken of the risk that comes with using RFID tags because of abuse and counterfiet rfid tag readers that can access teh information stored on the tag.
but another lesser-known concern is people hacking into an edge server which could contain valuable personal information. this makes rfid tag encryption more important than ever to ensure that your identity is protected. |
| |
| Okay kids. Your RFId Tag reader questions answered quickly. (That is if you had any rfid tag reader questions. which maybe you didn't.)
Talking to a mate of mine at work and he was asking if rfid tag readers could be designed to read both active and passive tags. which is an interesting question because it highlights a common misconception about tags and tag readers.
the difference between passive and active rfid tags has to do with their reliance on an internal power supply---not in how the tag reader reads them. all of the transmissions with rfid tags has to do with frequency. this is where the problems with global standardization come up. how to make sure somebody isn't using your same frequence for a similiar product. |
| |
| When will RFID tags be found on everything?
This is a question i got the other day. It was the water guy--but hey he wnated to know.
The answer is...when RFID tags get cheap enough.
For those who don't know there are two kinds of RFID tags---active and passive. Active are bigger, last longer, and are more expensive. Passive are smaller and cheaper.
Well, most people believe that the price for passive RFID tags has to come down close to 5 cents per unit. Even this is a little high for items that are under a dollar. But the thinking is that companies like Wal-Mart who deal in large inventories may be able to buy billions of RFID tags at once and bring the overall cost down to an acceptable level.
Active RFID tags are not as price-dependent since many of them deal with specialty items anyway. Such as the low-jack system.
though many items already contain RFID tags it realistically will take about 5-10 years before tags are found in all items.
|
| |
| okay. the blog works. well here's my first entry.
i work with RFID tags and a lot people seem to lament the dangers of RFID tags.
and there are concerns. why aren't large retailers like Wal-Mart not clear about when or how they will disable their tags. Do they disable them at the customer’s request? And how far a range will the RFID tags carry? Sure they can track your items in the parking lot---but how about at your house? Somebody might want to go into those implications a little bit more.
Yet i don't think the real concern should be big retailers like Wal-mart. The major security consideration with RFID tags is criminal types who can duplicate the frequency sent by a tag’s reader and read all of the personal information encoded on a tag. Not a big deal with a blue shirt you bought from Nordstrom---unless your private banking information is on that tag.
Perhaps the biggest consequence comes from ‘smart card’ stuff like the SpeedPass from Mobil or passports. A person could do a sweep of a physical location and find out almost everything from your passport.
it is a controversial issue and nobody seems to know for sure where the privacy laws are going to go. but don't worry so much about businesses...worry about nefarious types.
|
| |
