This Car Can Talk. What It Says May Cause Concern - NYT (sub)
OnStar is one of a growing number of automated eyes and ears that enhance driving safety and convenience but that also increase the potential for surveillance.

New Energy-Efficient RFID Tag - RFID Journal
Trolley Scan, an RFID design and development company based in Johannesburg, South Africa, has developed a UHF RFID passive transponder that uses...

RFID tags key to some cattle ID programs - ComputerWorld
... in Australia have the inside track on providing radio frequency identification(RFID) tags and readers to major beef-producing nations that have instituted...

Going West? Be ready for biometric tests- Economic Times, India
... against illegal immigrants – to guard against terrorists, curtail asylum seekers or plug identity theft – the one technology they all turn to is biometric ...

Tiny transmitters give retailers, privacy advocates goosebumps
USA Today reports, "Say hello to RFID: radio-frequency identification. If you don't know about it already, you're going to. Because, depending on who you ask, RFID technology is either a giant can of WD-40 on the wheels of commerce and inventory, or a spawn of the evil military-industrial complex that (still) plans to enslave us all."

Firms overcharge retailers for debit-card convenience - USA Today
Holiday shoppers who don't want to build up more credit-card debt are taking another little plastic card out of their wallets these days: Visa and MasterCard debit cards. By deducting funds immediately from a bank account, the cards provide consumers a convenient alternative to carrying wads of cash or writing checks.

The Danger of Letting IT Run RFID Projects - Ziff Davis
I thought his take on RFID implementation was particularly interesting, so invited him to summarize it here. Enjoy! Radio frequency ...

RFID scare stories ignore basic physics , says analyst - Out-Law.com, UK
Privacy advocates warn that radio frequency identification (RFID) technology could be used to track our movements and there have been calls for a boycott.

RFID: A Key to Automating Everything - Scientific American
Thirteen years ago, in an article for Scientific American, the late Mark Weiser, then my colleague at Xerox PARC, outlined...

Companies Test 'Contactless' Credit Cards - AP
The familiar process of buying something with a credit card - handing the plastic to the clerk or swiping it yourself, then waiting for approval and signing the receipt - could be headed the way of the mechanical brass cash register. For more than a year, MasterCard and American Express have been testing 'contactless' versions of their credit cards. The cards need only be held near a special reader for a sale to go through - though the consumer can still get a receipt.

Jan 2005 radio ID supply tag deadline remains - Forbes
The U.S. Department of Defense plans to stick to a January 2005 start date for suppliers to attach to their shipments tiny electronic tracking tags, an official said on Wednesday. The tags work in similar fashion to the UPC code that keeps tabs on goods but they can gather more information about a product's movement, making it easier to monitor its location. A tiny microchip embedded in them stores data which can be read by a nearby radio frequency reader that transmits the information to a computer for monitoring or analysis. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. the world's largest retailer, has imposed the same deadline for its top suppliers.

SUN Microsystems to open RFID test center in Scotland - EE Times Online
Sun Microsystems Inc. said it plans to open a 12,000-sq.-ft. European radio frequency identification (RFID) test center in Scotland by February 2004.

Questions remain unanswered over government's ID project - VNUNet, UK
This week the all-party Commons Home Affairs Committee announced an inquiry into the government's proposals for a biometric identity card and a biometric...

Israel to install biometric ID system at Gaza checkpoint - North County Times, CA
The system, developed by On Track Innovations Ltd., OTI, will use two biometric sensors to scan features of Palestinian workers crossing through the Erez checkpoint.

EU plan for biometric documents must not be rubber-stamped- Sinn Politics, Ireland
... TD has reacted angrily to the Government's plan to squash Dáil debate on EU Regulations requiring all visas and residence permits to contain "biometric" data...

Credit-Card implant provokes criticism - New Scientist
... But ADS claims its Veripay system, which is based on radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, would end the problems of identity theft and make it...

Privacy, Civil Liberties Groups Sign RFID Position Paper - TechWeb
... Radio frequency identification (RFID) tags contain computer chips that store information that can be fed into the computer systems of manufacturers...

Is RFID Technology Easy to Foil? - Wired News
... Makers of RFID (or radio frequency identification) tags, along with the retailers and suppliers who plan to use them, are saying the technology they spent...

Tag...Gotcha! The advent of RFID - Axcess Business News
Privacy and dinosaurs may be studied in some future classrooms but only as interesting cultish history. So what IS an RFID?

Biometric cards will not stop identity fraud - New Scientist
A plan to introduce biometric ID cards in the UK will fail to achieve one of its main aims, New Scientist has learned. The proposed...

Prepare to be scanned - Economist (subscription), UK
... The second reason is cost: biometric systems are expensive compared with other security measures, such as passwords and personal identification numbers.

Subdermal RFID chip provokes furore - The Register, UK
Well, it's already been widely reported, but we reckon it's Vulture Central's turn to chip in its two cents' worth to the subdermal RFID chip debate.

Sweden tests bio-ID cards - CNN International
Frequent flyers on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) are taking part in one of the first biometric identification trials that is using...

Chip implant gets cash under your skin - CNET News.com
Applied Digital Solutions (ADS) of Palm Beach, Fla., is hoping that Americans can be persuaded to implant RFID chips under their skin to identify themselves.

Report faults biometric ID card plan - International Herald Tribune
Plans by Britain and other countries to introduce sophisticated identity cards using biometric technology will fail to achieve one of their main aims...

An ATM card under your skin - MSNMC
Radio frequency identification tags aren't just for pallets of goods in supermarkets anymore. Applied Digital Solutions (ADS) of Palm Beach, Fla., is hoping that Americans can be persuaded to implant RFID chips under their skin to identify themselves when going to a cash machine or in place of using a credit card.

Sweden tests bio-ID cards - CNN International
Frequent flyers on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) are taking part in one of the first biometric identification trials that is using...

Bio-chip implant arrives for cashless transactions - WND
At a global security conference held today in Paris, an American company announced a new syringe-injectable microchip implant for humans, designed to be used as a fraud-proof payment method for cash and credit-card transactions.

Electronic RFID door locks - Dial Infolink Manufacturing, Australia
E-lock electronic radio frequency identification (RFID) door locks provide cost-effective, secure access control for stand-alone single door installations.

Privacy groups seek moratorium on RFID tags - Out-Law.com, UK
Over thirty consumer, privacy and civil liberties groups have called for a voluntary moratorium on the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags...

Applied Digital Solutions' Announces Secure Solution for Payment & Transactions - Business Wire
Applied Digital Solutions, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSX) an advanced technology development company, announced that the Company's Chief Executive Officer, Scott R. Silverman, in his speech today at the ID World 2003 in Paris, France, revealed the Company's newest subdermal RFID solution called VeriPay(TM). VeriPay is intended to be a secure, subdermal RFID (radio frequency identification) payment technology for cash and credit transactions. About the size of a grain of rice, VeriChip(TM) is the world's first subdermal, radio frequency identification (RFID) microchip that can be used in a variety of security, financial, emergency identification and other applications.

Singapore urges use of biometric passports to restrict terrorists - Channel News Asia
Singapore has urged countries to develop and use biometric passports as soon as possible as part of efforts to make the Asia Pacific more ...

RFID: Promise and Peril - Extreme Tech
A scannable badge that lets you into your building at work and an E-ZPass or similar device that lets you drive on toll roads without stopping to pay are examples of RFID technology. But as the technology gets smaller and less expensive, these applications are the tip of a huge iceberg. We're moving toward a world where many semiconductor devices can be printed instead of grown and etched in silicon by expensive equipment.

RFID Backers, Privacy Advocates Seek Common Ground - Tech Web
Consumers must be given notice if radio-frequency identification chips are ever used on individual products and packaging, and they need to be better educated about the technology's benefits and potential for misuse. Privacy advocates and RFID backers appeared to agree on at least that much Saturday at a workshop on RFID and privacy involving several hundred representatives of RFID technology producers and users, privacy advocates, academics, and technologists. But the conference also showed that the two sides have a lot of work to do to find common ground.

Smart cards break out of traditional roles as chips advance - EE Times Online
... in Japan and South Korea, national ID cards, driver's licenses valid across the European Union and next- generation passports and visas that store biometric...

Businesses' fingerprint policies stir controversy - Atlanta Journal Constitution
... terrorists. Some even are looking at fingerprints -- a form of biometric identification -- to improve customer convenience.

Wal-Mart puts big bucks into tracking tech - ZDNet.com
The system is based on a technology known as radio frequency identification (RFID), a new breed of computer network designed to track the location of everyday...

Passport eye scans to halt identity fraud - Melbourne Herald Sun
... Revolutionary facial recognition technology and other biometric features such as fingerprint, iris, retina and gait identification will be included in the new...

European Union: Citizens on file - Green Left, Australia
... Additionally, anybody from a non-EU state seeking entry or requesting an EU a resident's permit will have his or her biometric features registered.

Chipping away at your privacy - Chicago Sun Times
... The study involved a new technology, known as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), that enables retailers to use radio signals to electronically track...

Oldest Living Start-Up Tells All - New York Times
RFco is one of several start-ups trying to ride a revolution by making low-power chips that can handle all kinds of radio frequencies for data and voice transmission.

Gore Denounces Bush on Civil Liberties - OneWorld
Former Vice President Al Gore says the Bush White House is using the Sept. 11 terror attacks to justify a major offensive against the freedoms and liberties Americans have enjoyed for centuries. "They have taken us much farther down the road toward an intrusive, 'big brother'-style government - toward the dangers prophesied by George Orwell in his book '1984' - than anyone ever thought would be possible in the United States of America," Gore charged in a speech.

Wal-Mart Plan Could Cost Suppliers Millions - New York Times
Wal-Mart's plan to have every carton and palette it receives carry a radio ID tag may cost suppliers millions, a report says.

Britain Plans to Introduce Identity Cards
AP reports, "The British government said Tuesday it wants to introduce compulsory identity cards to protect against illegal immigration, welfare fraud and terrorism - though implementation is years away."

VeriChip Corporation: Sales of Subdermal RFID VeriChip to Europe
Business Wire reports, "Applied Digital Solutions, Inc., an advanced technology development company, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, VeriChip Corporation, has received a purchase order for 400 VeriChips and 34 handheld scanners from its exclusive distributor for Russia and Switzerland. These VeriChip sales represent the first to countries in the European region. About the size of a grain of rice, VeriChip(TM) is the world's first subdermal, radio frequency identification (RFID) microchip that can be used in a variety of security, financial, emergency identification and other applications."

How to Manage All That RFID Data - RFID Journal
There's a great deal of talk about creating real-time companies, and a great deal of concern about how to cope with the expected flood of RFID data.

Wal-Mart, DoD Weigh In On RFID - InternetNews.com
The Bentonville, Ark.-based-company is meeting with their top 100 suppliers beginning Tuesday to set radio frequency identification (RFID) compliance standards.

INTEL Preps New Wireless Sensor Technology - eWeek
... Eventually, Intel hopes to use the motes to develop a superior form of radio frequency identification (RFID) tag to identify and monitor individual wafers...

Radio Tags Face Technical Hurdles, Deadlines
Reuters reports, "Small tags that use radio frequencies to gather information are turning up as a potential replacement to the UPC code that keeps tabs on consumer goods, and technology companies are betting they will emerge as the next hot thing. But that may not happen any time soon, analysts say, because radio frequency identification tags still don't work that well. The tags fall far below the 99 percent reliability rate of UPC tags because of the difficulty of transmitting clean radio signals. At 20 cents to 30 cents apiece, plus the cost of altering packaging lines to accommodate them, the tags are also too expensive for most companies to use."

Medical fears may hamper biometrics - CNet
Companies and organisations that are keen to implement biometric systems may face opposition from some users who are afraid that they could be a health risk.

Processing at the Speed of Light - Wired News
Israeli startup Lenslet has built a computer processor that uses optics instead of silicon, enabling it to perform 8 trillion operations per second, equivalent to a supercomputer and 1,000 times faster than standard processors. Lenslet said its processor will enable new capabilities in homeland security and military, multimedia and communications applications.

Radio tags to the rescue? - CNET News.com
Radio frequency identification technology proved to be the hot topic Tuesday at Forrester Research's Executive Strategy Forum here, with attendees speculating that the technology could help revitalize the sagging enterprise software industry.

U.S. Unveils System to Check Identities
AP reports, "The public got its first look Tuesday at fingerprinting and photo equipment that will be installed at 115 airports and 14 seaports to check identities of millions of foreign visitors. The equipment, which goes into use Jan. 5, will allow inspectors to check identities of visitors against those on terrorist watch lists...The system consists of a small box that digitally scans fingerprints and a spherical computer camera that snaps pictures. It will be used for the estimated 24 million foreigners traveling on tourist, business and student visas who enter through an airport or seaport."

RFID : The Cost of Being Smart - Ziff Davis
The price of RFID sensors is coming down, but it's still too high for many. The Auto-ID Center, which is creating...

RANTS & Raves - Wired News
... So, it's not "in the mind," it's simply not uniform across the population.
Having school kids tagged with RFID is not an invasion of privacy...

Ridge: U.S. and E.U. Should Pioneer Biometrics - Reuters
The United States and the European Union should lead the world in setting international standards for biometrics such as facial recognition technology, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge said on Wednesday. Ridge said agreement between America and Europe on ways to combine fingerprints and facial recognition in travel documents could lead to a global standard...He added: "The United States and the European Union can be pioneers, and we're convinced that if we unite, that will make a global agreement easier."

Suppliers Sign On To GE's RFID Effort -InternetWeek.com
... Just a year into its project to attach active RFID tags to thousands of supplies--to track everything from modular duct work to 250-ton generators...

RFID Blocker Tags Developed - Silicon.com
A blocking technique to ease privacy concerns surrounding controversial radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has been developed by researchers.

Biometric borders coming - Washington Times, DC
... States as they enter and leave the country, and eventually verify their identity with electronic scanners that will check fingerprints and other biometric data...

Get this RFID tag off my fatigues - The Register, UK
The notion of RFID-enabled troops has triggered considerable concern among
Reg readers. Many of you out there suspect that the DoD's...

Three R's: Reading, Writing, RFID - Wired News
Gary Stillman, the director of a small K-8 charter school in Buffalo, New York, is an RFID believer.

Sony, Carrier Join on 'Smart Card' Phones
AP reports, "Sony Corp. and Japan's top mobile phone carrier, NTT DoCoMo, plan to cooperate in developing a system that will allow people to use their cell phones to pay for train tickets or buy items in stores. They plan to create a FeliCa Networks joint venture, to be set up in Tokyo in January, that will develop a new chip that integrates mobile phones with smart card technology developed by Sony, the companies said Monday."

Defeating Fascism, Again - National Review Online
Fascism, the subject of my first 15 years' professional study, is used so often as a term of general opprobrium that it has been gutted of all serious content in popular usage. More's the pity, since fascism is back, big-time, and it would be worthwhile to try to understand it in order to drive it back under the slimy rocks where it was hidden for much of the last half-century.

Defense Department drafts RFID policy - ZDNet.com
The US Department of Defense will give radio frequency identification technology a massive boost with a new policy requiring its suppliers to use RFID chips.

RFID Zeitgeist - The Feature
"RFID" isn't a household word yet, but geeks are beginning to care about "Radio Frequency ID tags" because of the privacy implications.

Australia launches biometric passport checking - ZDNet, UK
The Australian Customs Service (ACS) will next week launch its biometric passport checking system "publicly," drastically shortening its trial period.

Biometric tech gets small town trial - ZDNet, UK
A trial of the biometric technology to be used from 2006 in the UK's next-generation "passport cards" is to begin later this year in an unnamed small town.

ID Card Venture Aims to Speed Security Screenings
Reuters reports, "Newsweek columnist and Court TV founder Steven Brill is launching a venture to distribute identity cards that will allow people to speed through fast lanes at airport, office building and sports arena security checkpoints with a thumbprint scan. Brill -- author of After, a chronicle of the security and privacy challenges faced after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks -- has formed Verified Identity Card Inc., which will issue the cards, perform background checks and match databases against the government's list of known terrorists. Once the data is linked to credit card systems, the card will offer its holders added protection against identity theft, Brill told Reuters in an interview."

Push for National ID cards in Britian - EU Business
Britain's home secretary, David Blunkett, reaffirmed Monday that he wants to introduce a compulsory national identification card in his country, calling it a "valuable step" towards EU visa harmonisation. He said his recommendation was a logical development of an ID card system for asylum-seekers he started last year, and plans by big EU countries to eventually include bio-metric information -- fingerprint and face-scan data -- in their passports.

Europe speeds up electronic ID plans - ZDNet.com.au, Australia
The EU may introduce a standard health insurance card for all member states next year, followed by passports containing a biometric ID chip.

Sony Studying Ways to Embed Cell Phones
AP reports, "Sony Corp. (SNE) is studying ways to let consumers use their cell phones to buy groceries at convenience stores, pick up the tab for lunch and pay train fares, the company said Wednesday. The electronics giant already has its own smart card payment service called Edy - an acronym for "euro, dollar, yen" - which is accepted by about 2,700 stores in Japan."

VeriChip Receives First Orders for VeriGuard Access Control
Business Wire reports, "Applied Digital Solutions, Inc., an advanced technology development company, announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary, VeriChip Corporation, has received an initial order for ten of the Company's new wall-mounted VeriGuard(TM) secure access control scanning devices. The first VeriGuard(TM) sales will be featured in the upcoming VeriChip(TM) product launch planned for Brazil in mid November. Launch details will be announced in the near future."

Finns Ready Law for Tracking Young Cellphone Users
Reuters reports, "Finland has proposed a new law that would let parents track the movements of their young children via mobile phone, even without their consent, in a move that could set an EU benchmark in privacy and handset use."

Forgot Your Computer Password Again? Press Here
Reuters reports, "Attention confounded consumers: there's a high-tech solution that could render obsolete your growing jumble of credit card pin numbers and computer passwords -- and it's as plain as the nose on your face or fingerprint...Imagine a quick scan of your iris, fingerprint or entire face to authorize a credit card transaction, speed your way through customs at the airport or log you onto your computer."

Cell Phones Now Debit Cards in S. Korea
In one of South Korea's latest efforts to establish itself as a technology trendsetter, the country's three telecom giants, major credit card companies and several banks have been working for a year to enable Koreans to pay for everything from groceries to gasoline by cell phone.

RFID may replace barcode soon - The Star, Malaysia
RADIO Frequency Identification (RFID), a technology that enables that automatic collection of data on product, place, time or transaction without human...

Don't Let Protesters Scare You About RFID - Information Week
The subject: RFID. The question: Will privacy hysteria render RFID DOA? Or will CHP (cooler heads prevail)?

US Homeland Security Adopts Drexler's Biometric Verification - Business Wire
Drexler Technology Corporation (Nasdaq:DRXR), the supplier of multi-biometric ID cards to the governments of the United States, Canada, and Italy...

Defense Dept. orders its suppliers to use RFID tags by 2005 ComputerWorld
The Defense Department will require all of its suppliers to use passive radio frequency identification tags (RFID) on all cases and pallets by January 2005, a mandate whose impact will likely dwarf a similar policy that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. imposed on its top 100 suppliers in June.

Military's RFID Alternative: IPv6 - RFID Journal
... company in Reston, Va., has produced a white paper that suggests the military could use a new version of the Internet Protocol to track items with RFID tags.

EU plans biometric visa divide - VNUNet, UK
The European Union plans to include facial and fingerprint biometric data on travel documents for non-EU foreign nationals by 2005.

VeriChip Corporation Launches "VeriGuard" Secure Access Control
Business Wire reports, "Named 'VeriGuard-S.A.C.' (Secure Access Control), the newly developed device represents the first-ever deployment of a wall-mounted RFID (radio frequency identification) subdermal VeriChip reader that has been integrated into a building-access security system. In its present configuration - already installed and functioning - the new VeriGuard-S.A.C. reader consists of a high-powered RFID antenna encased in a durable plastic panel that can be mounted near a doorway or building entrance. The VeriGuard-S.A.C. scanner "reads" a passing subdermal VeriChip by emitting a low-frequency radio signal and receiving a return radio signal sent by the VeriChip's transponder...The VeriGuard-S.A.C. system...is now ready for immediate commercial introduction."

Coderre denies screening out biometric critics - CTV, Canada
... The citizenship minister has argued a secure national identity card containing biometric data would help Canadians by preventing others from committing fraud ...

Dept. of Homeland Security Places Initial Order for Identix - Business Wire
... is valued in excess of $2.3 million and was issued under the multi-million dollar Blanket Purchase Agreement awarded to Identix last week to provide biometric...

Ethics of library tag plan doubted - San Francisco Chronicle, CA
... The question of tagging library books thrusts ethical concerns surrounding RFID technology into the public spotlight in new ways...

EU Study: More Privacy Protections Needed
AP reports, "Terrorism-fighting tools and the rise of "little brother" digital devices threaten to erode Europeans' right to be left alone, according to a study released Monday by the European Commission...Policy makers need to work now to properly balance security and privacy before emerging technologies — such as mobile phones that pinpoint drivers' locations — become a part of daily life, the study says."

RFID Moves into Public Library - Ziff Davis, NY
... for reactivating it," Tien said. "Does the person have the ability to know if the RFID is on or off?". Some of the foundation's concerns...

Biometric features for EU travel documents - TechCentral, Malaysia
... Biometric systems can reduce patterns of fingerprints, irises, voices and faces to mathematical algorithms that can be stored on a chip or machine readable...

Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. Signs Agreement to Distribute DNA-Embedded Security Access Systems
Business Wire reports, "Applied DNA Sciences, Inc., a provider of proprietary DNA-embedded security products and services that protect corporate and intellectual property from counterfeiting and fraud, has signed a value added reseller (VAR) agreement with Pach and Company. Security industry specialists, Pach and Company will be distributing Applied DNA Sciences' DNA-embedded security products in North America...Applied DNA Sciences is able to isolate and combine unique sequences of DNA codes that become a fingerprint or traceable marking for any product. This fingerprint is virtually impossible to replicate."

Finger, faceprints get green light for Europe's ID standard - The Register, UK
... Commission's announcement notes that The Thessaloniki European Council
earlier this year "confirmed that 'a coherent approach is needed in the
EU on biometric ...

Human Genes Made to Fit on Dime-Size Chip
AP reports, "Scientists from two rival companies announced Thursday they had succeeded in placing vital bits of man's 30,000 genes on a chip the size of a dime, bringing so-called personalized medicine one step closer to reality."

EU Eyes Biometric Passport Plan - Deutsche Welle, Germany
The future is a step closer now that the European Commission has adopted a proposal to compel EU member states to compile biometric information of their citizens.

ID theft undermining integrated terror watch lists -ComputerWorld
... Lawmakers and federal homeland security experts argued in favor of wider deployment of biometric technologies and standardization of driver's licenses ...

RFID: Proceed With Caution - Ziff Davis, NY
... to the technology this month in Chicago, researchers worldwide launched the Electronic Product Code Network, an open technology infrastructure that uses RFID.

Driving dangerously with the Patriot Act:
CSM opines, "Attorney General John Ashcroft is running a dead heat with A. Mitchell Palmer, attorney general in the Wilson administration, for the distinction of being the worst in that job in the history of the United States. "

Global RFID Market to be $3 Billion by 2007
Business Wire reports, "Today, the Wireless Data Research Group (WDRG) announced it has found the market for RFID hardware, software and services will increase at a 23 percent CAGR from more than $1 billion in 2003 to $3 billion in 2007. According to the newly available research, the adoption of RFID for inventory and supply chain management applications, coupled with the finalization of a global air interface standard and architectural framework, will add significantly to the already growing base of RFID applications."

MANITOBA looking at biometric data on driver's licences - CBC News, Canada
Manitoba is considering using biometric information such as retinal scans, fingerprints and facial features on its new driver's licences.

Putting Your Calls Into Context
Wired reports, "Researchers are marrying the modest cell phone with accelerometers, skin sensors, GPS and a calendar to create a system that always knows where you are and what you are doing, thereby eliminating phone tag."

IRIS scanning in European passports being prepared - EUobserver.com, Belgium
As early as 2005 traditional European passports could be replaced by a new set of identification measures including biometric information.

NEW use for RFID tags - Ars Technica
It is a low-cost, easy to implement technology. RFID tags are essentially inexpensive radio transponders that transmit unique identifying data to a receiver....

Cameras Watching Students, Especially in Biloxi
The New York Times reports, "Fears of violence have spurred a trend to outfit public schools with the same surveillance cameras used in Wal-Marts to catch thieves."

BIOMETRIC technology proliferating - Daily Yomiuri, Japan
... Using a biometric system, a person's fingerprints or other physical characteristics are scanned and registered electronically to identify the person by ..

LABOR backs `big brother' powers - Green Left, Australia
A law presently before federal parliament, if passed by the Senate, would allow immigration officials to collect “biometric data” on all non-citizens.

EU calls for biometric border security Cape Times, Africa
... and control illegal immigration. The use of photographs and fingerprints is known as biometric technology. European security fears ...

RFID 'kill' option allays consumer privacy fears - Thewisemarketer.com, UK
Field tests of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology performance
in retail store check-outs are to be carried out by NCR and the Auto-ID
Center.

NCR Prototype Kiosk Kills RFID Tags - RFID Journal
NCR, a Dayton, Ohio, provider of point-of-sale systems, is working with the Auto-ID Center to test a kiosk that can kill RFID tags.

Betraying One's Passengers
The New York Times opines, "JetBlue's disclosure of consumer information is a cautionary tale about the ease with which government can access information that is ostensibly in private hands."

Radio Tag Debut Set for This Week
Wired News reports, "A consortium of retailers and consumer goods companies plan to unveil the replacement for the bar code next week. The upgrade will use a controversial radio technology that critics say will significantly expand the powers of retailers to track the whereabouts of their goods and the people who buy them."

Little Chip in the Big Apple!
Business Wire reports, "Applied Digital Solutions, Inc., an advanced technology development company, today announced that New York City's first subdermal VeriChip(TM) "chipping" procedure was performed yesterday (September 24, 2003) at the Company's lower Manhattan Authorized VeriChip Center."

Panel Targets Pentagon Terror Spy Office
AP reports, "House and Senate negotiators have decided to close a Pentagon office that was developing a vast computerized terrorism surveillance system and bar spending that would allow those high-tech spying tools to be used against Americans on U.S. soil...The controversial Terrorism Information Awareness program was conceived by retired Adm. John Poindexter and was run by the Information Awareness Office that he headed inside the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. It was developing software that could examine the computerized travel, credit, medical and other records of Americans and others around the world to search for telltale activities that might reveal preparations for a terrorist attack."

BOND-STYLE ID cards a first - Melbourne Herald Sun
... security. The Biometric Access Control Solution (BACS) is the first to combine not one, not two, but three types of biometrics. ...

EU proposes a security upgrade for IDs - International Herald Tribune
... Commission announced two proposals Wednesday setting out a common format for European residence permits and visas that will eventually include
biometric ...

DNA Computing: The Next Breed of Tech
CNN reports, "Unleashing the activity and properties of DNA could soon form the basis of new devices. Now scientists are harnessing life itself to generate new strains of computer devices."

States Join in Building Terror Database
AP reports, "While privacy worries are frustrating the Pentagon's plans for a far-reaching database to combat terrorism, a similar project is quietly taking shape with the participation of more than a dozen states — and $12 million in federal funds."

RFID Readers That Anyone can use, and Afford - PRNewswire
Open Tag Systems (OTS), an expert in providing robust, low-cost RFID solutions, has introduced two new hand held RFID readers, the SR-KBD...

COMPANIES test RFID waters but remain in shallow end - ComputerWorld
Executives from several large companies last week outlined their plans to move ahead with RFID technology as ...

Big Brother is watching you 24/7
CSM Book Review: The roots of America's surveillance culture are deep -- and ominous, says Christian Parenti in The Soft Cage: Surveillance in America -- From Slave Passes to the War on Terror...Though Parenti makes it clear that "even before the terrorist attacks of 9/11 the routine surveillance of everyday activity was expanding rapidly," he claims the horror of that day has been "seized, even hijacked, by the worse elements of the political class who seek to steer fear and anger towards the destruction of traditional American liberties.

UNIVERSAL Biometric to launch Multi-Biometric Products - United Arab Emirates
Universal Biometric is positioned to respond to the growing demand for Biometric Products and Solutions across Multiple Security Markets.

Patriot Act, Part II
The New York Times editorializes, "Rather than lash out at well-intentioned critics, the Bush administration should listen to those who are saying we need less Patriot Act, not more."

Revisiting the Patriot Act
PC Word reports, "It has been nearly two years since the Patriot Act's swift adoption in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States. But whether the law is the boon to law enforcement claimed by its supporters or the menace to civil liberties feared by its foes remains unclear...Critics such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) charge that the law is too invasive and violates Constitutional guarantees against unreasonable search and seizure....Patriot Act supporters say that the only people who need to fear being investigated under provisions of the Act are terrorists and their supporters."

VeriChip Corp. Signs Distribution Agreement for Brazil
Business Wire reports, "Applied Digital Solutions, Inc., an advanced technology development company, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, VeriChip Corporation, has signed a five-year, exclusive distribution agreement with Metro Risk Management Group, LLC, for the country of Brazil. About the size of a grain of rice, VeriChip(TM) is the world's first subdermal, radio frequency identification (RFID) microchip that can be used in a variety of security, financial, emergency identification and other applications."

COMPANY Information Center - Business Wire (press release)
... Aurora Biosecurity Solutions provides fully automated, complete biometric products and systems that grant or deny access to facilities, networks,e-transactions ...

TI to Make UHF EPC Tags - RFID Journal Sept. 17, 2003 -
Texas Instruments, one of the world's largest manufacturers of RFID transponders, has announced that it is entering the market for UHF chips.

PROVIA Introduces RFID Compliance Kit - Yahoo News (press release)
... the availability of RFIDware, a new product solution for Wal-Mart suppliers and others needing to comply with the retail giant's January 2005 deadline for RFID ...

Big Blue Launches RFID Service
News Factor reports, "IBM today unveiled a corporate radio-frequency identification service - a move that unleashes technology that business experts call a death knell for the bar code. But privacy watchdogs are expressing mounting concerns."

Radio-Tagged Codes to Hit Supply Lines
AP reports, "Backers of new radio-tagged product codes, a kind of souped-up wireless bar code, are heralding this as the week the technology finally moves off the drawing board and into the physical world. Unlike traditional bar codes, "Radio Frequency Identification" tags don't need to pass under a laser reader. They're already commonly used by drivers with 'speed passes' at toll booths, U.S. military quartermasters and ranchers tracking livestock..."

ALBERTA mulls biometric ID - The Globe and Mail, Canada
EDMONTON — Alberta's privacy commissioner is reviewing the province's plans to combine facial recognition technology with the new drivers' licences.

MOUSE signs off on security - Australian IT, Australia
... It has potential as a ubiquitous biometric system that does not need any equipment other than a standard computer, a keyboard and a mouse.

Bush Seeks to Expand Access to Private Data
The New York Times reports, "The president is seeking broad new authority to allow federal agents — without the approval of a judge — to demand private records and compel testimony."

Sweden Reject Euro Currency, Exit Polls Indicate
Voice of America reports, "Exit polls taken soon after voting ended in a national referendum Sunday indicated that about 52 percent prefer not to accept the European Union's currency."

BRACE for the RFID data deluge - InfoWorld, CA
"RFID (radio frequency identification), the technology behind wireless sensors used for tagging products to track their location, is getting attention across a number of industries, including manufacturing, retailing, transportation, and logistics. Giants like Wal-Mart, Target, and General Motors are already incorporating it into their supply-chain operations." :: It makes me wonder if our data storage technology and network capacity can handle a future in which every product and every person is on the Net?

SAS Tests Biometrics at Swedish Airport
AP reports, "Hoping to simplify passenger arrivals and departures and improve security, Scandinavian Airlines Systems said Wednesday it will test using biometric technology at an airport in northern Sweden."

Learning to Live With Biometrics
Wired reports, "Use of biometric ID systems has been on the rise in the private sector for some time. Companies from Hertz to Pepsi use finger-, hand- or iris-scanning systems to identify employees and sometimes customers. This year, biometrics system revenues will top $928 million, according to the International Biometric Group. In 2004, sales are expected to top $1.5 billion. Not surprisingly, privacy advocates are worried about the use of biometrics in public schools, where minors are the ones being scanned."

MALAYSIA tests ID chips for embedding in bodies - Silicon.com
"The Malaysian government has acquired rights to chips that can embed identity tags into cash, passports or even human bodies. The government has acquired intellectual property rights to the chip - now dubbed the Malaysian Microchip (MM from Japanese research and development (R&D) company FEC, which designed it. The chip can replace barcode tags in retail goods, and can be inserted into the human body, animals, bullets, credit cards and other items for verification purposes, said the report."

RFID Readers Get Smaller - RFID Journal
Sept.9, 2003 – One of the challenges of RFID technology is designing and
manufacturing equipment that’s small enough to function in a wide range
of ...

RETAIL takes stock of radio tags - The Globe and Mail, Canada
... The technology, known as radio frequency identification (RFID), tracks retail inventories through computer networks connected with microchips "tagged" to any ...

THE watershed moment for RFID - CNET News.com
A line was drawn in the sand: RFID was going to happen. More recently, Wal-Mart said it would not put RFID technology in retail ...

JAPAN to issue biometric passports by '05 - Japan Times, Japan
Japan has decided to introduce biometric passports by fiscal 2005 to meet tightened US immigration controls following the September 2001 terror attacks...

US to try biometric passports to fight terror - Gulf News, United Arab Emirates
... In short, it is a biometric passport, and the US seems convinced that is the way to go to restrict the movement of terrorists and organised criminals....

RFID: Tracking Kids, Keys and Pets - The Feature
... the wOz Internet address. Roughly speaking, RFID could be described as the electronic equivalent to smell.

Is Big Boss Watching You?
CBS News reports, "Some workers' rights advocates believe it is corporate America, not government, that has been emerging as the clearest embodiment of Big Brother - the all-seeing, all-knowing entity in Orwell's novel "1984." With technology already available or on its way, corporations can block your e-mail from particular senders, stop you from printing documents deemed too sensitive and record instant-messaging conversations among workers. "People worry a lot about the FBI spying on them," said Lewis Maltby, president of National Workrights
Institute. "But your chances of being spied on by the FBI are one in a million. Your chances of being spied on by your boss are better than 50-50."

World's smallest microchip unveiled
Aljazeera reports, "Malaysia has bought the rights from a Japanese firm to the world's smallest microchip that can be embedded in everything from currencies to human bodies.Announcing this on Thursday, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Muhammad said the microchip would boost the global “anti-terror” war. Mahathir said the revolutionary miniature chip, developed by Japan's FEC Inc., could be combined with current technology to "greatly prevent the possibilities of terrorist acts" as well as banknote and document counterfeiting. Chief executive Kunioki Ichioka told reporters that the chip can also be inserted into the human body, animals, bullets, credit cards and other items for verification purposes, and can replace price bar codes used to tag products."

UK: ID cards 'a must' against terror
The Advertiser reports, "BRITAIN must introduce personal identity cards for all citizens if it is to combat the threat of terrorism and organised crime, according to the country's most senior police officer. Since the September 11, 2001, attacks in the US there has been growing pressure in Britain, Washington's top ally in the war on terror, to bring in identity cards and a nationwide consultation on the issue is under way."

LOWRY Computer Products Announces its Membership In the Microsoft... - Yahoo News
"... Lowry, a leading provider of wireless, bar code, RFID and data collection solutions, has been named as a Microsoft Certified Partner."

RFID Will Be Bigger Than Y2K - CIO
The Bottom Line: RFID will have a dramatic impact on the operation of global supply chains over the next 10 years.

HITACHI Unveils its Itty Bitty RFID - InternetNews.com
Taking the concept of e-commerce in new directions, Hitachi Tuesday unveiled one of the world's tiniest RFID chips.

RFID tags make it into bank notes - Techworld, MA
Hitachi has developed an RFID (radio frequency identification) chip that requires no external antenna.

GL Sciences Announces Compact, Low-cost RFID Card Reader/writer - Japan Corporate News
The low-cost RFID (radio frequency identification) module is available for less than 3,000 yen ($26), the cost of producing a magnetic head.

RSA MULLS RFID DEFENCE - 02 September 2003 - CommsWorld, Australia
Some researchers at RSA security have recently published a paper outlining
how RFID tags could be blocked.

HITACHI develops new biometric identification system - Japan Today, Japan
TOKYO — Hitachi Ltd said Monday it has developed an identification system based on the pattern of veins in fingers.

SPYING ON BIG BROTHER - Glasgow Daily Record, UK
... of Europe.". She is setting up a unit to monitor testing of one of the latest ideas, radio frequency identification (RFID).

ID Theft Cost $53B in 2002, FTC Says
AP reports, "Identity theft cost consumers and businesses $53 billion last year, the Federal Trade Commission says in the most comprehensive government study of the increasing problem."

Ashcroft is Coming: Quick, Hide the Library Books
The Lawyers Committee for Human Rights and OneWorld reports, "As Attorney General John Ashcroft embarks on a national tour touting the virtues of the Patriot Act, lawyers rebut each of his key arguments. Even congressmen are becoming uneasy with Ashcroft's "quest for new powers," says the Lawyer's Committee for Human Rights."

Passports and Visas to Add High-Tech Identity Features
The New York Times reports, "Technologies that scan faces and fingerprints will become a standard part of travel for foreign visitors next year, and for all travelers in the near future."

U.S. Now Demanding Biometric Technology
AP reports, "Biometric technology that scans faces, fingerprints or other physical characteristics to confirm people's identities is about to get its biggest, most public test: at U.S. border checkpoints."

About the MARK WATCH blog
This blog is part of the Prophecy News blogstream and is focused on trends in identification technology (biometrics), e-commerce, m-commerce and Orwellian government control as potential fulfillments or precursors to the Biblical "mark of the beast" from Revelation 13:16-18. This blog takes no position on what the mark will ultimately turn out to be, it merely watches trends and cites reports from mainstream media regarding these trends. If you have questions or would like to contribute to this blog of join the Prophecy News blog team, please contact the editor at portents2@aol.com.