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Return to Article: Spread of RFID in Defense slower than expected

• 32001
  

  Based on such concern, we should leave any and all identification home and be sure to leave your cell phone off at all times, since you can be effectively tracked via triangulation on your cell signal. Also be sure to wear dark sunglasses as facial recognition has gotten much better and you will be seen from a much greater distance than from a passive RFID on your person. Fact and fiction in this case are very blurred, with most over sensationalizing how RFID works and how it might be uses. Think of the RFID Tag as a license plate (unique number) without the ability to look-up the number in the transportation database you have no idea what car it is attached to. In the same way an RFID tag with a unique number means nothing as a means to identify an individual or asset. Without the ability to look up the ID you have nothing of value. Safety is in how you use and deploy the technology.

  Dave Posted August 31, 2007 10:04 AM
• 31997
  

  Based on such concern, we should leave any and all identification home and be sure to leave your cell phone off at all times, since you can be effectively tracked via triangulation on your cell signal. Also be sure to wear dark sunglasses as facial recognition has gotten much better and you will be seen from a much greater distance than from a passive RFID on your person. Fact and fiction in this case are very blurred, with most over sensationalizing

  Dave Posted August 31, 2007 9:39 AM
• 28833
  

  While I understand the application potential of RFID, as it stands this may be a security nightmare from hell. The ability to determine the contents of a shipping container or the identity of a person from a distance would make OpSec a thing of the past.

  The application of RFID technology to HR and personnel systems is truly frightening. In its current configuration, I would recommend all military personnel being transferred overseas get civilian passports and wrap them in foil during transit, except where required for presentation.

  Oh, my. I'm starting to sound like Jerry Fletcher in that movie; and then I remember how that American service member on the hi-jacked flight was identified by his military passport, shot, and thrown from the plane to the tarmac.

  Be careful out there.

  Tip off Posted July 19, 2007 12:33 PM
• 28656
  

  Typical of the program office not fully understanding all of the secutrity requirements that are imposed by other parts of the agency. Brenda's comment is correct. I wanted the system for my former base, but the security and IT folks would not allow the system.

  Retired 35 Years DOD Employee Posted July 17, 2007 2:39 PM
• 28643
  

  RF-LAN is not the same as RFID. This is fairly common confusion. It's not uncommon to have a batch mode barcode data collection environment (requiring the cradle), but to also have fixed-position RFID interrogators which are hard-wired into a LAN. I really wonder about the "millions of tags sold" The number of tags sold doesn't tell you much - they could all be sitting on the shelf still on the media carrier. I'd be more interested to hear the rate-of-change figures on how many readers (interrogators) were purchased - and installed - on a quarterly basis. That will tell you a lot more about the adoption rate.

  RTC Posted July 17, 2007 11:06 AM
• 28267
  

  Another problem with radio frequency systems is that our security department has said that due to the nature of some of our inventories we are not able to have radio frequency in our supply warehouse. We currently process our inventory via bar code readers but need to dock the readers to upload the information. We really wanted the radio frequency system since it would show our processes in real time.

  Brenda Venner Posted July 12, 2007 10:51 AM