EU trials continuous RFID monitoring in airports
By Darren Murph 
posted Oct 13th 2006 9:51AM
posted Oct 13th 2006 9:51AM
If you thought toting an RFID-enabled passport was infringing on your so-called privacy, the European Union is going the extra mile to ensure you completely relinquish any remaining aspects of personal choice when you enter its airports. On a mission to "improve airport efficiency, security and passenger flow" (read: keep a constant eye on your every twitch), the EU is dropping €2 million ($2.5 million) on the Optag project, which allow airports to toss a newly-developed RFID tag around the necks of all incoming passengers. The tags, crafted by University College London's antennas and radar group, have an unusually long range -- "about 10 to 20 meters" -- and can pinpoint the location of whomever is donning them to "within one meter." Developed to ensure "a quicker stream of airport traffic," the chips are continuously monitored for deviant or suspicious behavior, and a network of "high definition cameras" (1080p?) are in place to track your every move. For those of you traveling through Hungary's Debrecen Airport, you should probably arrive prepared to rock a newfangled necklace for the duration of your stay, but try not to let that constant reminder of Big Brother's omnipotence get you down.
What happens if you just take off the necklace and bin it?
Good diety Europe sucks these days
How do RFIDs make people safer at airports? Would-be terrorists are often times willing to DIE while carrying out their acts. I don't think an RFID necklace will slow them down. Well whatever, there is no such thing as privacy anymore so RFID me up I guess. If knowing that I bought a magazine at the newsstand and then went to the crapper before my flight is useful information for airport security then so be it.
if somebody can make a RFID proof wallet or a 'envelope' that will contain the device by blocking out radio frequences,we will we see what will happend.
This sounds FAR too easy to beat by carrying a plastic non-RFID fake in your backpack, then swapping out your real RFID for your plastic fake in the bathroom, then leaving your real RFID in a lounge where it doesn't seem suspicious to be in one place for a while. That way you can go wherever you want and look as if you're wearing it. Terrorists will surely go to such lengths if they want to.
The other problem is, if you manage to find a way to deactivate your RFID tag or shield it inconspicuously, what are they going to do now that your tag is actually not traceable anymore? Search the entire airport for you? Yes? In that case, what happens every time a tag legitimately breaks then, loses reception, or someone accidentally leaves the airport with it on? Do they go on a mad goose chase because they thought a terrorist broke it?
A terrorist could also surely construct some device to record existing RFID signals and retransmit or backpack some device to confuse the RFID system.
Hungary was one of my least favorite places to begin with. This just made it hit rock bottom.
What is that a picture of?
very interesting, you hear so much about RFID and yet it's not used anywhere. an airport is the right place to start - you won't get any privacy there anyway.
If you can find a microwave in the airport just put your tag in it and zap it for a few seconds. It'll fry the rfid chip but will still look like a normal tag...
I don't think it's a privacy nuisance. after all, it's an airport, and airport security is a must. I won't be doing anything other than wainting for a flight @ an airport, and I bet it wont be more than 1 day @ the most, so it doesn't think it bothers me at all... well done... I think...
You DO realise why there have been no more large terrorist attacks, don't you? They don't need to! They've already won. The rest of the world is falling to frickn' pieces over this shit.
Still, there is worse to come.
I cant believe that is even legal, the more protection we want the more freedom we have to give up. Hungary is surely off my vacation list.