Re: Cell Phone Encryption/Security in The USA

From: John Navas (spamfilter0_at_navasgroup.com)
Date: 07/11/03 

Date: Fri, 11 Jul 2003 17:51:11 GMT

[POSTED TO alt.cellular.cingular - REPLY ON USENET PLEASE]

In <3F0EF29B.8C3C7DDB@t-online.de> on Fri, 11 Jul 2003 19:23:39 +0200,
Mok-Kong Shen <mok-kong.shen@t-online.de> wrote:

>John Navas wrote:

>> RFID tags are passive devices (never actually "on") with very short range.

>I hope it wouldn't be considered an offense if I use
>your own words to say that 'This all raises serious
>questions about the credibility of the [your] source'.
>
>The following is from
>
>http://www.aimglobal.org/technologies/rfid/what_is_rfid.htm
>
>and apparently contradicts your claim above that RFID tags
>are [all] passive devices:
>
> RFID tags are categorized as either active or passive.
> Active RFID tags are powered by an internal battery
> and are typically read/write, i.e., tag data can be
> rewritten and/or modified. .......

Active RFID devices are indeed possible, but are larger and much more
expensive, and AFAIK, most if not all consumer-level RFID devices to date are
passive. When we worry about RFID (as in this context), it's mostly about the
tiny passive tags that could be embedded in products, not the relatively large
anti-theft tags currently on or in packages (that get deactivated in the
store). If you know of an actual RFID consumer-level device that's active,
I'd be very interested.

While consumer-level RFID is probably coming sooner or later, thus far it's
mostly been a technology in search of a market. Note that WalMart just
canceled its in-store trial (where RFID devices would be embedded in
individual products), focusing instead on warehousing (where RFID devices are
embedded in pallets and containers). 

-- 
Best regards,
John Navas     <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/>           HELP PAGES FOR
CINGULAR GSM + ERICSSON PHONES: <http://navasgrp.home.att.net/#Cingular>

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