The Chips are Down and there's Money to Burn
Medium rare moolahBig Brother is watching you and your cash, man.
US and European money has been embedded with RFID - Radio Frequency Identification tags - high-tech tracking devices as part of the new-reality surveillance society.
Invented in 1969 and patented in 1973, but only now becoming commercially and technologically viable, RFID tags are essentially microchips, the tinier the better. Some are only 1/3 of a millimeter across. These chips act as transponders (transmitters/responders), always listening for a radio signal sent by transceivers, or RFID readers. When a transponder receives a certain radio query, it responds by transmitting its unique ID code, perhaps a 128-bit number, back to the transceiver. Most RFID tags don't have batteries. Instead, they are powered by the radio signal that wakes them up and requests an answer.
Most of these "broadcasts" are designed to be read between a few inches and several feet away, depending on the size of the antenna and the power driving the RFID tags. However, it is possible to increase that distance if you build a more sensitive RFID receiver.
Ostensibly RFID tagged money has come about as an anti-counterfeit measure. But it also means your cash can be tracked, baby. Unless you fry the chip in a microwave like these guys did - Here for money to burn
Pets are already tagged with RFID chips. What's next? RFID tags on every citizen? More on this scary technology and its implications -
Malcolm Lambe
And now American passports have an RFID chip in them. Apparently you can disable it with a good hit from a hammer - read it on BoingBoing.
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Reader Comments (6)
Terrifying...
Their business model is identical to WalMarts.