'Enhanced' Drivers Licenses and RFID chips
In the not-too-distant future, that stack of plastic cards in your wallet will get a lot smarter. The revolution has begun with new credit cards, and will soon be expanded to include US Passports and 'Enhanced' Drivers Licenses. These new smart cards will employ a technology called RFID.
The information encoded in the RFID chip can be "read" by an RFID reader either by placing the chip in front of the reader or by pointing the reader at the chip. This information can be read at a distance of approximately 10m (33ft).
Using this technology, the information on your new Drivers License can be read while it is still resting comfortably in your wallet. You need not even be aware that it was happening.
This means that it would be possible for an ill-intentioned person to read all of the information off of your license and potentially use that information to clone your identification and steal your identity. By employing multiple scanners (say in an airport departures area), it will also be possible to track your current location using triangulation. Interestingly enough, researchers and hackers have already proven that the RFID chips embedded in new passports can be cloned and the data can be modified. At this year's HOPE Conference in New York City, a group of hackers were able to use arrays of RFID readers to track the movements of participating conference attendees.
RFID is a great technology, but we should be concerned about the way in which we are using this technology and objectively assess whether there is any benefit to it.
Interesting Links:
HOPE Attendee MetaData Project
Article on Passport Hack
Ontario's Bill 85
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Not only does this hoarding of information stink of big brother but its implementing technology for technology's sake. Why would we ever need to use, en-mass, a technology that can read someone's driveing license from 30ft away?