The Consumer World of

You’ve seen it before…  Books  Digital Media  Computer Hardware  Other high value items

 RFID in the store  RFID in your wallet  The downside  The future

RFID in the Supermarket  Supply Chain Suppliers Manufacturing Distribution  Shelves  Checkout

The Supply Chain  Parts from suppliers are labeled with RFID tags and sent to a manufacturer  Tag readers at the manufacturer count the parts and update inventory  Pallets of completed products are labeled with RFID tags and sent to the distributor  The distributor breaks up these large pallets and send smaller amounts of items to various stores

On the Shelf  Each item on the shelves would include an RFID tag in its packaging  Allows a central computer to Keep a moment to moment live inventory Track every item on every shelf Alert clerks to misplaced items

Checkout  Removes the need for scanning each item one at a time  Just push the whole cart through a gateway  A computer totals the items and asks you to pay

RFID in Your Wallet  Shopper’s Card Kroger Plus Sam’s Club  Credit/Debit Chase Blink Amex ExpressPay

RFID Card Specs  Contain a chip holding the carrier’s name, card number, security card, and expiration date  Encrypted using 128-bit encryption and Triple-DES  Send unique, one use codes when challenged by the chip reader

The Downside  Computer Errors  Privacy Concerns RFID tags will remain active beyond the store Tracking tags Concerns about RFID shelving Credit/Debit card skimming

Card Skimming  Secretly scanning credit cards to gain access to the stored information, OR  Intercepting the data stream between a card and the tag reader $8 signal interception chip available online Freely available DIY schematics for a $30 unit that is capable of breaking the encryption on many cards

Scandal!  2003, the Broken Arrow Incident Confirmed fears of RFID shelving Wal-Mart and P&G accused of spying on customers  2003, Benetton Clothing Boycott Italian clothing company announced plans to place RFID tracking tags in their major clothing line

Scandal!, cont.  2006, British Passports Intended to ease border crossings Included a chip containing name, DOB, address, and a digital photo Encrypted using a much stronger encryption than RFID credit cards Required a challenge by a government issued reader Broken in 48 hours

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