September 16, 2005
RFID and consumer privacy
In order to ensure consumer privacy, the Generation 2 EPC tags have the option of being "killed" at the point of sale. It appears to be an extreme step that presupposes an enormous amount of damage if a "live" tag were to be allowed outside showroom premises. However, by rendering the tags inoperable, people are being denied their current and potential uses. Item returns and exchanges, improved quality control, automated search for lost items, etc are examples of the manner in which RFID tags can be used outside the supply chain.
An alternative to killing the tag is to combine RFID and EAS technologies. A logical bit can be inserted in the tag. The bit is switched on for the tags on purchased items while it remains off for items on the shelf. This means that the readers can read only those tags that have the EAS bit in the off position. This ensures customer privacy. RFID readers can also be configured to perform an audit to check if there are any readers trying to read private tags. rfidjournal.com reports:
Reader auditing detects violations as they occur, or after the fact. A technological tool known as a blocker tag or blocker, on the other hand, can prevent privacy violations before they occur. A blocker effectively jams readers that emit private-read commands. In a nutshell, when it detects a private-read command, it simulates all possible RFID tags in the world, rendering the reader incapable of communicating with other tags.
Read More: A Bit of Privacy
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