RFID Tracking Moving Cars: Has Anyone Asked Your Permission For This?

US rolls out 'Vicinity RFID' to check IDs in moving vehicles

RFID technology that allows the remote identification of travellers in moving vehicles is being rolled out at US land border crossings this month. Crossing points with Canada at Blaine, and with Mexico at Nogales, came online last week, with Buffalo, Detroit and San Ysidro to follow, and a total of 39 planned.

The system uses the US PASSport (People, Access Security Service) card, which is intended to operate within the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) for US citizens entering the US via land and sea ports. Using "Vicinity RFID" it can read the cards from a healthy skimming distance of 20-30 feet, but according to the Department of Homeland Security this isn't a problem. The RFID chip on the card doesn't contain any personal information, only a unique identification number, and skimmers wouldn't have access to the data the number matches up with.

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So your privacy is quite protected... NOT!

Researcher demonstrates the ease of scanning and cloning new Homeland Security-issued ID cards

With a $250 used RFID scanner he purchased on eBay and a low-profile antenna tucked away in his car, a security researcher recently cruised the streets along Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco, where he captured -- and cloned -- a half-dozen electronic passports within an hour.

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My my. A lot a phreaks are going to have a field day once RFID is mandatory for every "citizen". Get your two-for-one vaccination/RFID chip in a friendly centre near you. Your government encourages you.

T4H

QUOTE- "and skimmers wouldn't have access to the data the number matches up with."
heh.