Posted 08.22.2011 at 11:15 am
9 Comments
RFID Chip
Wammes Waggel/Wikimedia Commons
Following the violent kidnapping of former Mexican presidential candidate Diego Fernandez de Cevallos last year, some Mexicans are now having themselves implanted with RFID tracking chips similar to the one that was supposedly cut from Fernandez’s arm by his abductors, the Washington Post reports. Companies selling these chips to scared citizens are promising that they will help rescuers track them down in the event of a kidnapping.
The chip, implanted in the tissue between the shoulder and elbow, sends a signal to an GPS device that the wearer carries. But Xega, the company that manufactures many of the chips, says that they can track clients even without the GPS unit, by sending radio signals directly to the implanted chip. This claim seems very unlikely to be true.
RFID researchers say that Xega’s claim that it can still find clients even if their external GPS unit has been lost is ludicrous. The technology that would allow remote tracking of RFID signals is still far off, they say. Although Xega says they have helped to rescue 178 people in the past ten years, an executive acknowledged that the implant would likely not work without the external GPS.
Mexicans have good reason to be frightened, with abductions having jumped 317 percent in the past five years. One fifth of instances have involved police officers or soldiers, which leads to a mistrust of authority figures. Xega has seen its sales increase by 40 percent in the past two years.
Other companies are selling external GPS trackers equipped with panic buttons, disguised as keychains, watches, or bracelets in the hopes of fooling kidnappers. This approach at least is not technologically impossible, although emitting a regular distress signal could quickly drain the battery of such a device.
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If the tracking company's database is compromised, wouldn't it then be extremely easy for kidnappers to track the individuals who would be good targets for kidnapping?
After all...there must be a reason why the people wouldn't get a tracker implanted if they don't think they would be potential targets.
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Make a unit that can energy harvest from 60 hertz, sleep then burst transmit General Packet Radio Server(GPRS)identification on the hour, then you might have a small chance of making this thing work.
As promising as this is, isn't it counterproductive to let the bad guys know where the chip is? Especially if it's in a limb that can be hacked off. Maybe keep a few secrets on the location and hide it somewhere around the torso if possible.
Yes, it's very hard to get passive RFID to work more than two yards, even with a high gain antenna. Active RFID units are big enough that you can't implant them, and their batteries die in a few years, meaning removal and reimplantation is necessary.
This RFID Chip is proof of identity. The bad guys may just get their pocket knife, dig it out and mail it to the family demanding money and showing proof of their kidnapping. It would be the same as mailing a finger of nose or ear. It would have to be a secret and it would have to emit a powerful radio signal to be useful.
666 MARK OF THE BEAST
Perhaps the mark of the beast is a your cell phone. Seems everyone wants a cell phone. ".....The mark of the beast is a combination of letters and symbols that will be physically and permanently placed on your forehead or right hand. Most people will consider it an honor to receive the mark. It will be like a key for them that will open doors of acceptance, prosperity and peace....." A ear bud is close to your forhead and a cell phone is more often held in the right hand. The keypad has letters and numbers. The smart computer cell phones open doors and let you pay for things in a store, when we contact our friends we feel at peace.... Seems all the world wants a cell phone or smart cell phone.
Detecting the presence of a RFID device, and cutting it out, is very easy. The detection happens every time when you try to leave a store without paying for the merchandise.
Well, if given enough time, the gangs would have a hard time finding the chip. In biological tissue such as humans and our pets, the chips shift location, in many cases drastically. The chips are placed between the shoulder blades, but have been found along the ribs, and even on the chest. Even veterinarians who are asked to remove them from pets have trouble. They require using x-rays to locate it if it hasn't shifted deeper into the muscle, and even then they only know the general location. They're trying to find a grain of rice. Since the gangs don't mind hurting the person, their easiest tactic would be to fry the chip. It would hurt like a son of a gun, but once again...they don't care.