DHS Inspector General Criticizes RFID
The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security has issued a report saying that the RFID system being used on certain immigration documents are not adequately secured for protecting privacy and data security. This is an additional blow to the use of RFID, following the report from the Privacy Advisory Board.
Beyond the implications to this specific program, these kinds of reports add fuel to the fire that will have consequences for private sector use of RFID. A federal government program like this attracts a lot of media attention - much more than any private company's use of RFID. And if the technology becomes labled as "risky" or "dangerous" for government use, anti-RFID forces will have lots of ammunition to argue that RFID shouldn't be used in the private sector either. Everyone in the RFID space has an interest in reversing this trend within the Federal government.
. . . by fixing the problem, getting RFID out of places where it isn't a good technology - not by sending lobbyists and PR agents after critics. ;-)
