Applied Digital Solutions, maker of VeriChip, a human implantable RFID chip, is trying to expand their market. When they first debuted the product, their leading application was for associating individuals with their medical records. Another often cited application was chipping children and memory-impared adults to get them home when lost.
Those applications are no longer discussed on the product's home page. Recently ADSX jumped on the transportation and homeland security bandwagon. Also, they tout the VeriChip for facility access control.
The latest target is commerce. They want to chip people to replace credit cards, according to articles in Wired and C|Net.
Posted by holtzman at November 26, 2003 12:24 AMThe whole concept of VeriChips implanted in humans against their will, or without informed consent as children or vulnerable adults is unethical, bordering on actually evil.
Not only are these VeriChips too "stupid" too be "killed" or disabled electronically, you need a surgical operation to remove them.
One would expect extraordinary IT security precaustions to be taken with the back end IT systems used to run the VeriChip tracking.
Sadly, this is not the case with the VeriChip distributor in Mexico called Solusat,
http://www.solusat.com.mx
which is proudly claiming links with the Mexican Red Cross for access to Medical Records, and the National Foundation of Investigations of Robbed and Missing Children
Why then, is Solusat *not using SSL/TLS session encryption* on the website through which the VeriChip RFID tag registration details and medical records can be accessed ?
Why is the *SQL Server administrator account and password apparently visible* to any hacker or corrupt employee, simply by inspecting the HTML source code of this website ?
This would be bad enough if the only thing that they were putting at risk was credit card details, but to put Children's details and Medical Records at risk over the internet or to corrupt employees in this way is criminal negligence.
Those people currently devoloping EPCglobal "internet of things" RFID chips and back end systems should pay attention and not repeat such avoidable mistakes.
Any reputable companies deploying RFID tags would be well advised to help get these evil RFID human implants banned, or risk being tarred with the same brush.
http://www.spy.org.uk/spyblog/archives/000121.html