All the requisite metaphors, similes, and apolcalyptic references have already been made: The Number of the Beast, Big Brother, Logan's Run, The Borg... Of course, it is none of these, but there are some social overtones of a disturbing nature.
I'm talking about "tagging." Not the kind in which a young hipster leaves identifiable spray-painted messages (a "tag") on urban property.
This is the kind in which you get an RFID chip implanted (the location of choice is the soft tissue between the thumb and forefinger) in your body.
So why would anyone want to do this?
Well, some folks are already doing it to their pets so that they can be identified (presumably, even tracked) should they be lost or stolen. And others have considered it for children, again, for situations in which the children are lost or stolen. But now, Mikey Sklar, a self-described "fire artist," claims to be using his implanted chip so that his computer installations will recognize him - and only him - with just a wave of his hand.
Mikey got his implant from PhidgetsUSA. This is a company that markets RFID toys and kits of all kinds for gadgeteers interested in the technology.
But there is at least one more company - VeriChip (www.verichipcorp.com) that is on the cutting edge of "identifying, locating, and protecting" both you and your assets.
Among the more obvious uses for tag implantation are infant protection, wander prevention (for "wander prone" residents of nursing care facilities), and patient tracking/identification. Infant and patient tracking chips would presumably be removed once the immediate need was concluded.
Assuming the chips could eventually be programmed to perform a wide variety of sensing and data storing tasks (such as, in the case of VeriChip, vibration monitoring for various mining, construction and geotechnical applications), the possibilities quickly become enormous: keeping track of exposure to harzardous chemicals and radiation; entry/exit to secured facilities; payment; prisoner monitoring; blood sugar levels, etc.
Some of these applications could prove to be real benefits to safety and security. But as with any advance of a Promethean nature, there is the dark side. How about a company that required implants for workers so that their hours worked could be really monitored? Do you really want to know where your spouse is at all times? What is the babysitter's level of alertness?
While some of these potentially intrusive applications are still in the imagination stage, the tracking applications of the chips themselves are not. And while the chips may be implanted for perfectly good and sound reasons - a high risk patient can have instant access to medical records, for example - these same chips might be "hackable" for less beneficial purposes.
"As far as I can tell, there are no security measures taken with the chip. It's not a secure chip," said Richard M. Smith, an Internet and privacy consultant in Boston. "There's nothing to stop someone from accessing the code and cloning the chip" to access records, he said.
I'm talking about "tagging." Not the kind in which a young hipster leaves identifiable spray-painted messages (a "tag") on urban property.
This is the kind in which you get an RFID chip implanted (the location of choice is the soft tissue between the thumb and forefinger) in your body.
So why would anyone want to do this?
Well, some folks are already doing it to their pets so that they can be identified (presumably, even tracked) should they be lost or stolen. And others have considered it for children, again, for situations in which the children are lost or stolen. But now, Mikey Sklar, a self-described "fire artist," claims to be using his implanted chip so that his computer installations will recognize him - and only him - with just a wave of his hand.
Mikey got his implant from PhidgetsUSA. This is a company that markets RFID toys and kits of all kinds for gadgeteers interested in the technology.
But there is at least one more company - VeriChip (www.verichipcorp.com) that is on the cutting edge of "identifying, locating, and protecting" both you and your assets.
Among the more obvious uses for tag implantation are infant protection, wander prevention (for "wander prone" residents of nursing care facilities), and patient tracking/identification. Infant and patient tracking chips would presumably be removed once the immediate need was concluded.
Assuming the chips could eventually be programmed to perform a wide variety of sensing and data storing tasks (such as, in the case of VeriChip, vibration monitoring for various mining, construction and geotechnical applications), the possibilities quickly become enormous: keeping track of exposure to harzardous chemicals and radiation; entry/exit to secured facilities; payment; prisoner monitoring; blood sugar levels, etc.
Some of these applications could prove to be real benefits to safety and security. But as with any advance of a Promethean nature, there is the dark side. How about a company that required implants for workers so that their hours worked could be really monitored? Do you really want to know where your spouse is at all times? What is the babysitter's level of alertness?
While some of these potentially intrusive applications are still in the imagination stage, the tracking applications of the chips themselves are not. And while the chips may be implanted for perfectly good and sound reasons - a high risk patient can have instant access to medical records, for example - these same chips might be "hackable" for less beneficial purposes.
"As far as I can tell, there are no security measures taken with the chip. It's not a secure chip," said Richard M. Smith, an Internet and privacy consultant in Boston. "There's nothing to stop someone from accessing the code and cloning the chip" to access records, he said.
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