Posted on 01/07/2006 3:25:02 AM PST by AntiGuv
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forgetting computer passwords is an everyday source of frustration, but a solution may literally be at hand -- in the form of computer chip implants.
With a wave of his hand, Amal Graafstra, a 29-year-old entrepreneur based in Vancouver, Canada, opens his front door. With another, he logs onto his computer.
Tiny radio frequency identification (RFID) computer chips inserted into Graafstra's hands make it all possible.
"I just don't want to be without access to the things that I need to get access to. In the worst case scenario, if I'm in the alley naked, I want to still be able to get in (my house)," Graafstra said in an interview in New York, where he is promoting the technology. "RFID is for me."
The computer chips, which cost about $2, interact with a device installed in computers and other electronics. The chips are activated when they come within 3 inches of a so-called reader, which scans the data on the chips. The "reader" devices are available for as little as $50.
Information about where to buy the chips and readers is available online at the "tagged" forum, (http://tagged.kaos.gen.nz/) where enthusiasts of the technology chat and share information.
Graafstra said at least 20 of his tech-savvy pals have RFID implants.
"I can't feel it at all. It doesn't impede me. It doesn't hurt at all. I almost can't tell it's there," agreed Jennifer Tomblin, a 23-year-old marketing student and Graafstra's girlfriend.
'ABRACADABRA'
Mikey Sklar, a 28-year-old Brooklyn resident, said, "It does give you some sort of power of 'Abracadabra,' of making doors open and passwords enter just by a wave of your hand."
The RFID chip in Sklar's hand, which is smaller than a grain of rice and can last up to 100 years, was injected by a surgeon in Los Angeles.
Tattoo artists and veterinarians also could insert the chips into people, he said. For years, veterinarians have been injecting similar chips into pets so the animals can be returned to their owners if they are lost.
Graafstra was drawn to RFID tagging to make life easier in this technological age, but Sklar said he was more intrigued by the technology's potential in a broader sense.
In the future, technological advances will allow people to store, transmit and access encrypted personal information in an increasing number of wireless ways, Sklar said.
Wary of privacy issues, Sklar said he is developing a fabric "shield" to protect such chips from being read by strangers seeking to steal personal information or identities.
One advantage of the RFID chip, Graafstra said, is that it cannot get lost or stolen. And the chip can always be removed from a person's body.
"It's kind of a gadget thing, and it's not so impressive to have it on your key chain as it is to have it in you," Sklar said. "But it's not for everyone."
Sklar's girlfriend, Wendy Tremayne, has yet to be convinced. She said she probably would not inject the computer chip into her body unless she thought it was a "necessity."
"If it becomes more convenient, I may," said the 38-year-old artist and yoga teacher. "(But) I'd rather have an organic life."
I'm curious to know how an RFID implant could be designed or "shielded" so that it cannot be accessed by an unauthorized intruder. It seems to me that if the devices it's meant to communicate with can read it, then it's transmitting a signal that can be read by any interloper with a compatible receiver.
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Tin foil clothing.
so how did he manage to open his door before computer chips
RFID blocking wallets or in this guy's case RFID blocking gloves. I never thought I'd actually have to wear a tin foil hat.
And the Art Bell schedule for the next two weeks is set as the Number of the Beast callers queue up.
I'd rather have someone steal my credit card than my hand...
"I'm curious to know how an RFID implant could be designed or "shielded" "
All I can figure is this is a peice of fabric worn on the hand, as: incorporated into a glove. To use the chip,take off the glove. No dumber than putting it in in the 1st place, in my opnion.
Seems to me a fingerprint reader (as low as $40.00) and a good password would be much safer.....
Actually, it's in the flesh.
/sarc.
No need to take the whole glove off. Just use a shooting glove. OF course, you end of looking like Jacko using this technology.
"In the worst case scenario, if I'm in the alley naked, I want to still be able to get in (my house)," Graafstra said in an interview in New York, where he is promoting the technology. "RFID is for me." "
What I want to know is why he is naked in an alley. Wait a minute ... on second thought I don't want to know :-)
Maybe a kind of glove that needs to be removed for the chip to be used?
Accept this form of ID in any way shape or form and the Pandora's box will open and never close.
I will resist any kind of advance towards this insideous threat, which is exactly what it is. The potential abuses of this are scary to even think of....especially from a Hillary type of government at any level, local, state or especially Federal.
An RFID tag should be inserted in every visitor to the US. That would keep tabs on them every time they passed a scanner.
Lose it, deported instantly.
Overstay, deported instantly.
Don't have one, deported instantly.
Right...so if you need to keep your "shield" with you at all times to prevent unauthorized interception of your private data, why would it not be easier just to keep the private data on an already shielded card (or bracelet or ring, if he/she/it is afraid of losing it or being outside naked without it)? It could be activated when needed by removing the shield, not vice versa.
Seems like the "not needed" time would be far greater than the "needed" time, leading to worries about constant transmission of personal data over radio waves when the need to have such information actually transmitted is a very small fraction of time (compared with 24/7 transmission of an implant).
There is no conceivable circumstance whatsoever that I would even remotely consent to having an RFID implant or anything similar.
Oh, but it ~will~ be, Miss Tremayne. I've read the book. ;-)
Step close to the world of Ghost in the shell PING!
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