Slashdot Mirror
RFID Implants for Spanish Revelers
WWW/X writes "USA Today reports that clubbers in Barcelona are getting drunk and being implanted on site with RFID chips in order to pay their bills without carrying around bulky items such as credit cards. The article states that the implant can go anywhere, however it does not state whether anyone has chosen their forehead." The club's website describes the program (link in spanish).
Ever tried to break a small piece of glass? A hammer could do it on a hard surface, but not when it is in the subdermal layer where it is in a relative cushion...
How about the option to put it in, for example:
A ring
A necklace
An earring, nose ring, etc.
A bracelet
A watch
All of these seem a lot safer, putting things under the skin can be really really dangerous. How do you go about getting it out if you're done with it? What if someone clones your id? What if it migrates to somewhere else in your body?
It's times like this that I'm glad we have an FDA here in the US.
What a load of crap! The /. descriptions says clubbers in Barcelona are getting drunk and being implanted on site with RFID chips which maks it sound like the club is tagging passed out patrons with a chip without their consent. In fact the bar is sponsoring the chip implants and people can sign up for them. I'm not saying that it makes the idea OK, but it's a heck of a lot better than a story about waking up with an ID embedded in your arm. Let's try to tell it like it is a little more, even if it is /.
THIS SPACE FOR RENT
Yeah those pesky bulky 50x30x0.5 mm^3 credit cards - don't want to lug one of those around.
I got the impression from Slashdot's interpretation of USA Today's rant that these people are getting implants against their will because they're drunk. Or that they don't want the implants, but they get them because they are drunk.
Then when I read the article, I found out volunteers willingly accepted them.
Gotta love Slashdot articles that throw in completely unwarranted, biased statements like "patrons are getting drunk and...", even though the article says nothing of the sort.
Yeah but isn't this exactly how it starts?
This is scary. VERY scary.
If you pass out, your RFID chip still works, guess who's buying! At least with cash, when your out, your done.
Huh? So you're saying that the bartender is less likely to accept that cash that someone lifted from your wallet than to accept your passed-out body being dumped on the bar to pay for the drinks?
Just to try and head off some of the sillier comments here:
As anyone working in a Vet's Surgery will tell you, these sub-dermal chips have a read range of about 2-3 inches, so you don't have to worry about the club recording how many times you gave ten euros to the guy in the corner with all the funny bulges in his hat.
Sorry.
We will now return you to your normal paranoid service.
Woulda get an RFID to not have to remember your computer password? Me neither. Coming to a keyboard near you.
Painlessly inserted? How about removed? A passport no matter how good you can always loose. With an rfid tag imbedded this becomes a lot harder. Does any current goverment want to use this? No probably not.
Then again think of the time when a certain european country started a database with the religion of its citizens and of their parents. And think of the time that passed before its true purpose become known. Can you predict wich kinda goverment we will have in a decade? The US 10 years ago was just getting rid of bush in favor of clinton, the netherlands was all peacefull and quiet with no-one making any political statements that were not Politically correct and politicians getting shot happened elsewhere. (for the non-dutch we had a huge uproar (by dutch standards) when Pim Fortuyn formed his own party and said things that no-one had dared say before but a lot of people were thinking. A openly gay charismatic person with some right wing and some left wing views who looked like he was going to win the election before being killed).
Scary stuff. Anyone that accepts this is insane.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
The forehand is a symbol of the mind. Do you think of God or something else?
The right hand is a symbol of work. Do you work for God or do you work for yourself?
A lawyer 2000 years ago wrote the following:
This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
The journey is better then the end.
Why be afraid? Implanted RFID tags are the first step to a clothing optional world. The second step involves everyone finishing our Dr. Aitkins diets so we don't all look flubby...oh, and Bush's energy policy needs to finish the global warming trend so we don't get chilly.
Dude! RFID tags means we can all run around naked and get drunk all day long...uh, okay, maybe I see what you mean about being afraid.
RFID tags come with a random 128-bit number burnt into them at the factory. Sorry.
You don't get it.
All you would need is a simple RF recording and playback device.
When you walk up to the bar, I hit "record". When you pay, I've got your 128 bit number.
Then I walk up the bar and hit "play". Congratulations, your "unique" 128 bit number has just paid for my drink.
It would be similar to the "codegrabbing" devices that have been used to bypass car alarms and garage doors.
If one was particularly clever, they could build the device as an attachment to a device like an ipaq or an ipod, allowing it to be used inconspicuously.
Life is too short to proofread.
Are these capsules sterile when inserted ?
How much training does the 'nurse' at the club have?
If the 'nurse' is so well trained, how come they aren't working in healthcare ?
What facilities are provided at the club to ensure a sterile working environment for the 'nurse' and patients ?
Are the capsules certified free from proteins that may cause immune responses ?
What sort of waiver do I have to sign to get one of these implanted ?
If I have a problem with the implant, do I contact the manufacturer, or is the bar going to provide care for complications arising from the device.
--Tsiangkun
I'm sorry, but it's my understanding that RFID tags are "dumb" transmitters only capable of sending a single payload.
See, public/private key systems work great for variable payloads, since the computer at the other end will expect something different every time. So if I were to grab a single packet from your encrypted file transfer, I can't alter that one packet and send it over and over to your computer, expecting your computer to create an altered file from it.
RFID, on the other hand, will always transmit the same payload at all times, encrypted or no. So all I have to do is record that payload, then I can program another chip with it and no reciever will know the difference, because my forged ship is sending exactly what the origional will always send.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
Their VIPs must be stupid enough to give up their privacy in exchange of the convenience of not having to move cash around and the extra bonus of being handled and ID'd just like cattle are.
Geez. What happened to dignity?
Rich kids are indeed dumb...
If only you understood the first thing about encryption. The key is never transmitted.
Look up public/private key systems.
It is NOT a good idea to make the assumption that encryption is involved here. Most RFID tech (read: what Walmart's calling for) is NOT going to involve encryption.
Do you actually think this bar paid the extra money for the *expensive* RFID tags with actual processors in them? I may have a bridge to sell you......
Life is too short to proofread.
Well, at least you have a solution to the privacy issue that you can't remove the chip after you leave the bar...
Wh47 d1d j00 541, 31337 15n't t3h r0xor5 ne m0r3???
(and for those who take em' seriously, for the 10,000th time) Wait for it. The banking institutions are going to want to do trade this way. It starts with a night clib in Baja, then goes to something else. It then becomes a fad, people go for it, then BAM, it's manditory at work for some people. Afterall, you want to be team playa, don't you? Overtime, the technology advances, and now it can store encrypted data and is difficult as fsck to hack.
Then all of a sudden, the banking institutions begin associating the data with you. Now instead of carrying around a wallet, you carry around a chip which a central database in some goverment or business institution. The chip stores your info, and all they've got to do to enforce it is put in advanced versions of credit card readers that read chips and correlate that data over the intarweb.
That isn't the end though. There'll still be a few people reeling and screaming to the rest of the sheeple that what they're doing is wrong. The real end, is when someone comes before congress complaining about the incredible cost of keeping a cashier at the front desk. They'll talk about making a law stating businesses won't have to take money anymore for trade. Of course, by then everything will be pretty much monopolised by profiteering corperations. Then, when the terrorists begin trading with people, good ol' barter, they'll outlaw that too.
And then the banking institutions have all the power they ever wanted.
Candy-Coated Knowledge
The Verichip website doesn't say anything about the ID number changing each time it's read - as far as I can tell, encryption is only featured in their (larger, non-implanted) Veritag ID badges. In any case, couldn't I walk around the club with an RFID reader, reading everyone's chip and advancing the sequence, thus making it impossible for anyone to buy drinks?