Use of RFID technologies for identification, tracking - Term Paper Example

? Use of RFID Technologies for Identification, Tracking Contents Contents 3 Introduction 3 How RFID Works 4 Usage and Benefits of RFID 5 RFID has got many practical applications in the industrial sector or at home. It can be used in automobile immobilizer systems. In this case, a car is made in a way that it incorporates passive RFID tag. The steering column authenticates the tag hence enabling a user to control the vehicle operation. In some cases, the tag and the steering column are programmed to operate in a cryptographic communication. However, immobilizer can only work in small reading range of about 5 cm. Automobile immobilizers are very effective in reducing incidences of auto thefts[9]. 5 Efficiency and Effectiveness 5 Tracking Pets 5 Toll and Transportation Payment 6 Inventory and Supply Chain Management 6 RFID Concerns 7 Tracking and Identity Theft 7 Personal and Privacy Threats 7 Credit Card Theft 8 Tiny to Notice 8 RFID Solutions 9 Killing Command 9 Auditing Private RFID Readers 9 Blocking and Jamming 10 Encryption 10 Encryption enables the conversion of data into cipher texts that no one else can intercept or even interpret. 10 Pseudonyms 10 Push Button 10 Chipped Tag 10 Policy Solutions 11 Privacy Protection Acts 11 RFID Bill of Right 11 Conclusion 12 References 12 Abstract Since the World War II, RFID tags have maintained a growing popularity among industry players and individuals. RFID systems are now being used in many applications in businesses as well as by individual to keep tab on their pets and other domestic animals. RFID are also being used in traffic toll payment systems. RFID tags are used in inventory management to keep counterfeit products at bay and also to avoid pilferage of products on transit. National parks and games reserves are using RFID tags to place endangered animal species under 24/7 surveillance. Easy tracking of animals has made it easy to manage the movements of such animals. On the other hand, there are people that believe that RFID systems expose consumers to undue tracking that infringes on consumers rights. This paper dissects how RFID are used in the contemporary society, their advantages, RFID bill of rights, ands the technological and policy solutions to possible problems of the infringement on individual privacy through the use of RFID. Introduction Many organizations are fast adopting the use of RFID systems for easy tracking of counterfeit goods and all sorts of other criminal activities that people might engage in to the detriment of a company. Despite the growing popularity of the technology, the opposition has slammed RFID for its potential threats to privacy of individuals. It is imperative to acknowledge the opposition could be right since every person has a constitutional right to their own privacy. The deployment of RFID systems in the contemporary society is widespread. Philips Semiconductors that manufactures RFID chips has sold more than a billon chips across the world [9]. This may mean that many companies across the world have already installed RFID into their surveillance and tracking systems. Industrialized countries have adopted the technology more than in any other parts of the world [9]. While people may think that RFID systems are some of the latest technology breakthroughs in tracking systems, RFID have been in existent since the World War II. They were used in the war to detect Friend or Foe systems in military aircrafts [9]. In the contemporary world, there are several applications of the RFID systems including; automobile immobilization, inventory management, payments systems, tracking of animals, and in automated traffic toll collection. These widespread applications of RFID have improved efficiencies in accomplishing tasks for companies but on the other hand, have invigorated the debates on their infringement on people’s privacy. How RFID Works RFID tag has two components that aid in its collection, processing and transmission of information. Its part that is integrated into its circuit system collects, stores, and processes information. It can also act as a modulator and a demodulator of the radio signals that it emits. The second part is constituted of the reader antenna. The antenna aid in transmission of the radio signals to a computer system where the transmitted data can be stored. Data that is stored in a computer system can be retrieved for later use. RFID tags can be passive, active as well as semi passive. Passive tags are the most widely used RFID tags because they are less expensive and does not need any power supply system on their circuit boards. A passive tag also relies on electromagnetic waves in order to function. They thus have a limiting distance to which they can transmit information from reader antenna location. On the other hand, active RFID tags always have an inbuilt power supply system that can enable them to send information to very many feet from the reading antenna. It is mainly used in the shipping docks or track rails. A semi passive RFID tag also has a battery on its circuit board that allows it to beep while capturing data from the tag. It works with antenna reader that sends radio wave signals while it is in operation. Usage and Benefits of RFID RFID has got many practical applications in the industrial sector or at home. It can be used in automobile immobilizer systems. In this case, a car is made in a way that it incorporates passive RFID tag. The steering column authenticates the tag hence enabling a user to control the vehicle operation. In some cases, the tag and the steering column are programmed to operate in a cryptographic communication. However, immobilizer can only work in small reading range of about 5 cm. Automobile immobilizers are very effective in reducing incidences of auto thefts[9]. Efficiency and Effectiveness The goal of most companies around the world is to increase their profits and efficiency. Achieving this goal cannot be satisfied if they focus only on how to control inventory or if they have high labor cost. Using RFID will decrease the labor cost and the errors that can be made by employees substantially. The reason is that the time that can be spent by the employee to scan the items can be saved if RFID technology is used. Also, the errors can be minimized while the accuracy can be increased as a result of using RFID. Tracking Pets Owners of pets such as cats and dogs benefit from RFID technology as well. The RFID tags can be attached to pets, so they can be tracked easily since they contain all the necessary information about the pet and its owner. For example, if the pet is lost and taken to a shelter, RFID tag can be used by the shelter in order to find and return the pet to its owner. Such tags don’t cost a lot of many, while some tags especially the ones that work with GPS to track marine animals are expensive. [9] Toll and Transportation Payment Another example of using RFID is payment methods such as credit cards with RFID tags or public transportation cards such as SMART Trip cards that are used in the metro stations. Auto toll collection such as E-Z Pass, where drivers can install high range RFID tags on their vehicles and RFID readers are put at toll points that can read these tags from several meters even when the car moves at a speed of 100 mph [9]. Inventory and Supply Chain Management Some of the reasons that spread the usage of RFID tags in inventory and supply chain management are the capability to find any product anywhere at any time in the supply chain and the ideal supply chain visibility. Statistics are important to companies because they help them to know how to increase their sales. RFID tags can be used to provide this information. They can be configured to monitor the number of sales. For instance, this technology allows stores to have a useful report about the number of sales for each product [1, 5, 11]. Therefore, they can determine what products bought the most by customers at a given time. Moreover, locating the miss placed items by reading the shelves item is another benefit of using RFID tags [9]. RFID tags are helpful in terms of managing inventory and decreasing number of thefts. RFID tags are capable of transmitting data to computers. This can be helpful because it can be used to track items from the assembly lines through the delivery points and then market place. Also, number of thefts can be reduced if the RFID tags are attached to the products because these tags can be located remotely [9]. Handling returned products is another benefit of using RFID. For example, stores can use RFID tags in order to verify and check the returned products before accepting them. RFID Concerns Tracking and Identity Theft According to Mario Rivas, who is a vice president for communications at Philips Semiconductors, more than a billion of RFID chips had been produced and shipped by Philips globally [9]. Mark Robert, who is an editor at RFID Journal, said that about 20 to 50 million of Americans are using RFID in their works and daily live [4]. The spread of this technology around the world makes identity theft an easy task. The reason is that RFID tags can be easily installed in most devices such as smart phones and computers. Since people are using these devices everywhere, identity thieves can access and read their personal information using regular RFID reader [2]. Personal and Privacy Threats Most personal privacy threats occur because of the fact that tags with unique IDs can be easily associated with a person’s identity. One of the cheapest RFID tags that introduced by the Auto ID Center at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology is the 5-cents RFID tag. It is used by most of the retailer stores due to its low cost. The security level of these tags is very low since they don’t support any encryptions. Stores are using these tags to identify their products since each tag has a unique number. For example, if a customer buys a jacket from Polo store in New York, and another customer buys the same Jacket from Polo store in Washington DC, each one of these two jackets will have a unique ID which could be associated to the purchaser when they use an item registration system such as a frequent shopper card. Therefore, people can be tracked based on the unique ID tied with tag they carry. Some stores use RFID reader to help them know the customer interest after scanning what they have in their bags. These readers can be installed anywhere in the store. However most of the stores prefer to put these readers at the entrance. This can help them send the salesperson to the customer with prior knowledge about the customer interests and needs. Also, some clothes contain RFID tags attached to them. So if a customer bought cloths from certain store for example, then this store can know how frequent this customer visits the store. This makes the customer an easy target for the store because they know his/her parches history. Also, the location of the customer in the store can be determined easily as these tags can be read remotely. Credit Card Theft Credit cards benefit from the RFID technology. However, the spread of RFID technology usage increases the risks of identity theft for a theft. RFID credit card transmits the personal information on the credit card using frequency. So people with such cards can scan their cards on RFID readers instead of swiping or sliding the card through a card reader. Unfortunately, the financial information on the credit card can be skimmed easily using a cheap reader from Amazon or eBay that can be placed nearby; the price of such readers is no more than 20$. An unauthorized person or a scammer can get the information of the credit card while still in the customer’s wallet [2]. Tiny to Notice The tiny size of RFID tag makes it difficult for a customer t to notice and remove as some of these chips or tags are tiny ( Its thin as a sheet of paper and its size is less than 0.48 mm [4, 9]). This is one type; other type can be embedded inside a product as shown in the bellow image. Hitachi Company, For example, has produced 0.44 mm RFID chip to be attached with a photo copier paper to be able to track documents automatically; the technology used in developing these tags allow them to printed right on the items or the product [1, 3]. . Also, it can be read remotely using regular RFID reader and holds data up to 128 bits. Figure 1: a very small RFID tag RFID Solutions Technical solutions The main problem and concern of the RFID technology is privacy invasion. We have seen in the previous sections in this paper some of the RFID issues, especially the ones related to the privacy. The information on the RFID tags can for example can be used by scammers or unauthorized users to violate the privacy of other users. These tags are used to serve different purposes. They can be found with clothes, shoes, credit cards, medication ….etc. Scammers can take advantage of this technology if no security feature and protection mechanisms are implemented. So we need to have some technical solutions along with policy solutions to maintain the privacy of the RFID users [6]. Killing Command Killing command is the process of requesting for termination of certain computing capabilities of RFID tags. For instance, consumers can have the RFID tags killed at the point of sale so that they can never be read by at any point. Auditing Private RFID Readers Auditing of private readers enable users to ensure that RFID systems are correctly configured at all times. RFID readers that send private command signals can be rectified in time before users run into violation of individual privacy rights. Blocking and Jamming Blocking and jamming involves making it accessible for other people to connect and communicate with others on certain networks. An example is phone network work jamming that disable communication within a given network. Encryption Encryption enables the conversion of data into cipher texts that no one else can intercept or even interpret. Pseudonyms Tag pseudonyms are used to replace the real consumer serial numbers making hence making it difficult for unauthorized persons to track consumers from unauthorized readers. Push Button Push buttons can work with actual or virtual buttons that a user of RFID tags can use to control access to their cars, starting and stopping the car engines remotely, operate automobile immobilizer function, and in automated locking and unlocking of doors. Chipped Tag Chipped tags can be verified at check points, for example in supermarkets. Chipped tag that have been programmed with certain access PINs can enable consumer protection by configuring RFID to emit only the right PIN and password signals when it reads information from the right chip tag. Policy Solutions Policy response to solving the problems of RFID systems can also be a good avenue to coming up with the best standards of practice in using RFID systems. Policies can have great advantages when it comes to managing behavior or intention when implementing the use of RFID tags. It is also important to note that policy formulation on regulating the use of RFID tags can be a difficult process since different people have different opinions when it comes to debating the use of RFID systems [4]. Privacy Protection Acts Various privacy protection Acts have been formulated and established in different parts of the world in response to the use of RFID systems within the last few decades. Fair Information Practices was created 25 years ago to protect consumer privacy. In 1970, Fair Credit Reporting Act was established. Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development was established in 1980 to give guidelines on privacy protection. In 1995, the European Union (EU) passed the “Directive on the Protection of Individual”. The directive was aimed at guiding the processing of individual’s personal data [9]. RFID Bill of Right There are RFID bill of right guidelines that guide developers and those people that deploy the use of RFID tags in their premises or merchandizes. Users of RFID tagged products should be made aware of such tracking devices on the items that they have bought. Secondly, clients have a right to demand for the removal or deactivation of RFID tag after making purchases of items that bear them. Thirdly, Consumer rights to travelling or return the products for which they have opted to have RFID tags removed should not be violated by manufactures and vendors. Fourth, consumers must be made aware of the information that the RFID tags bear. Lastly, consumers should be informed of the points where their RFID tags can be read and the reasons for such readings. Conclusion In conclusion, it is poignant to note that the invention, development and deployment of RFID systems by companies and individuals across the world has been a great blessing in improving security and tracking of commodities, animals as well as reducing auto theft cases. RFID has helped companies improve their fights against counterfeits hence improving consumer safety. At the same time, RFID has increasingly been blamed for their possible infringement on individual privacy rights. Industry players should be guided by several legislations that have been created to curb against violation of individuals’ privacies. They should ensure that consumers and well informed and remain protected at all times. In addition to policy based regulations, technology based solutions to curtail any possible infringement on privacy laws are also beneficial in ensuring that people reap the full benefits of RFID technology. References 1- Hanan Sitlia, Habib Hamam, and Sid-Ahmed Selouani. Technical Solutions for Privacy Protection in RFID. Vol. 38. EuroJournals Publishing, Inc., 2009. 2- IDENTITY STRONGHOLD. Why do you need a Secure Wallet™, Secure Sleeve®, or Secure Badgeholder®? October 2012 . 3- Kjallman, Jimmy. An Overview of Approaches to Privacy Protection in RFID. Prod. Helsinki University of Technology. 11 December 2006. 4- Malone, Robert. Can RFID Invade Your Privacy? 7 December 2006. Forbes.com. October 2012. 5- McIver, Rich. RFID Privacy Issues. 22 March 2005. RFid Gazette. October 2012 . 6- RFID Journal. A Bit of Privacy. 2 May 2005. October 2012 . 7- RFID Journal.. What is RFID. 2005. October 2012 . 8- Rouse, Margaret. RFID (radio frequency identification). April 2007. October 2012 . 9- Simson L. Garfinkel, Ari Juels, and Ravi Pappu. RFID Privacy: An Overview of Problems and Proposed Solutions. Prod. IEEE Security &Privacy. The IEEE Computer Society, May/June 2005. 10- Technovelgy.com. Problems With RFID. October 2012 . 11- Wardell, Bill. RFID Tags - Smart Idea or Invasion of Privacy? 5 May 2007. Ezine Articles. October 2012 < http://ezinearticles.com/?RFID-Tags-Smart Idea-or-Invasion?of-?Privacy?&id=553503>. Read More