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Microchips For Human Implantation As ID
securitas writes: "Reuters is carrying this story about Applied Digital's VeriChip -- a subcutaneous microchip (like the ones they use to tag pets, livestock and wildlife) used as ID for humans. They are radio-activated and would initially be used to store and transmit medical data via the Internet. They will be also used as tracking beacons and personal ID according to a company exec. The launch will be in Europe and South America. The company has made an FDA application and the FCC has already licensed airwaves for a similar device." We've mentioned this company's "Digital Angel" before, but there's an understandable sudden interest in such tracking technologies.
What would be the benefit?
... nothing more.
A central database of Retinal/Thumbprint scans can ID you just as easily. All the Info on your medical records could be stored in the central DB as opposed to in your microschips.
Unless...you could somehow control access to your own Microchips. I could see several levels of permissions:
Global: Person scans, and now knows that you are a citizen of the USA, EU, PRC
Business: Person Scans, and now can get your shipping and billing info.
Medical: Person scans, and now can get you vital medical history ALA 1st Alert.
All this we be predicated on you having a public/private key hand shake, similar to the SSL setup.
1) Remote machine requests permission
2) Microchip tells chip to grant permission (I have no idea how, I am just dreaming at this point)
3) Chip grants short-lived one time key for accessing info.
If someone tried to tag you with one of these against your will, I am sure there would be many ways to distrupt it: Wear a "Diskman" that actually produces white-noise frequencies to cover the radio from the chip...replace the implanted chip with a home made one that proves that you are someone else...implant a chip that compromises a buffer override in the scanning software so that if anyone tries to ID you their machine crashes.
In other words, business as usuall
Open Source Identity Management: FreeIPA.org
He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead,
so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name. -- Revelation 13:16-17
We now have technology to make that happen!
There's one completely practical aspect of all of this which hasn't been mentioned yet. I volunteer with a dog rescue organization which tries to use the chipping technology to match lost pets with their owners. When it works, it's great.
But the chips, which are usually implanted in the back of the animals neck, can occasionally migrate inside the animal's body. Mostly they just slide down the back, but there have been cases where they just disappear. (I'm sure the chip is in there somewhere, I just don't want to find out...)
Either way though, if it's possible for the chips to move after implantation, I think the technology needs more work before we start putting them in people.
Let's see here, we've already accepted:
-- Our private medical information being entered into databases and sold to marketing companies.
-- Our credit records, containing all sorts of personal and private data, being sold to marketing companies and being used to barrage us with all manner of advertisements for crap we don't need or want.
-- The Brits have accepted their every movement being monitored by closed-circuit telescreens, er, cameras, in the name of "crime prevention."
-- A de facto National ID number (the Social Insecurity number).
-- DoubleClick teaming up with Polk to personally identify and track web usage of individuals.
-- The Clipper chip. Key escrow. Carnivore. Nuff said.
What's to stop us from accepting a microship implant? "Oh, you don't want this? What are you a terrorist? A pedophile? A criminal?" is the most common refrain. Or, "If you're an honest guy, you've got nothing to worry about." And you know what? It works every time, it'll work this time too. Face it, folks, it's coming and we've done it to ourselves. We have finally gotten the government we deserve.
Oh well, call me a cynic, but I'm only surprised that it has taken this long.