Radio frequency identification, or RFID, technology has found use in many different applications. Stores use RFID tags to track inventory, and government offices use it to encode identification data in important documents. While RFID tags offer considerable advantages over other tracking systems, they also have weaknesses that third parties can exploit, and disadvantages that you should take into consideration before adopting this technology.
Ease of Use
Businesses that replace bar code scanners with RFID systems gain a significant advantage, because bar codes require the user to point the scanner directly at each code scanned, while RFID scanners can activate multiple tags at once and do not require line-of-sight to each tag. A user can scan an entire box of products without opening the package, or scan the contents of a shopping cart without having to remove each item and pass it over a scanner.
Range
While passive RFID tags only have a range of a few meters, active tags use an internal power source that can boost the range and allow them to transmit over a period of time and not just when scanned. This can allow users to set up fixed RFID receivers, and track the contents of an entire building, for example, at once. Paired with a more powerful transmitter, RFID technology can track items, people or even tagged animals over a large area.
Security
The fact that an RFID tag responds to a signal of the proper frequency means that anyone capable of generating that signal can read the information from the tag. This can allow third parties to easily access the information encoded in an RFID tag, and use that data for their own purposes. Furthermore, the long-range nature of RFID technology allows users to access data at a distance and covertly, so the target of the information theft might not even be aware it has happened. Encrypting data stored in RFID tags can help prevent this kind of attack.
Privacy
The covert nature of RFID scanning and the ability to embed tags in almost any product means that consumers may not know when companies are monitoring their shopping habits or even movements. Companies can aggregate RFID data to harvest data about people without their consent, and if cashiers do not disable tags at the point of purchase, they can continue tracking consumers long after they leave the store.
Tags: RFID tags, means that, nature RFID, RFID technology, third parties
