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WATCHING WHAT YOU SPEND

In what was once purely the realm of science fiction, cash which contain tracking devices have now become reality. The concept is not something entirely new, since science fiction writers have regularly touched on the topic in their futuristic novels. It seemed a natural progression for society to take.

The implementation of the tracking devices in cash is not something new either, with reports indicating that the corrupted bank notes have been around since at least 2004. Both US and Euro notes have been reported as having the tracking devices, although just how widespread they are is anybody’s guess.

The culprit behind the tracking has been the mu-chip. It was first produced by Hitachi back in 2001 in collaboration with Mew Solutions. Measuring just 0.4mm in length, the chip was small enough to embed into paper products and allowed currency notes to be folded and bent without damaging the chip.

It is just 60-microns thick and features 128 bits of ROM integrated with 2.45GHz wireless communications circuitry. The response time is around twenty milliseconds and Hitachi have advised that the chips can be read from a distance of 30cm, although this has been proven to be grossly under exaggerated.

AMAZING STORIES

There have been numerous stories sailing across the internet about experiences with RFID tagged cash. Many people claim they have come across US $20 bills fitted with RFID tags. When these notes are placed into a microwave, the tag explodes and leaves a burn mark at the right eye of Andrew Jackson. Photos have been circulating the internet providing proof to this claim.

The same microwave stories have been linked to the Euro notes, even in the smaller denominations such as five and ten Euro notes. But the contaminated Euro notes should not come as a surprise, with the European Central Bank admitting as far back as 2001 that it had plans for a RFID rollout.

There was also the story of another American called Dave. He had over $1,000 in his wallet, of which the vast majority were $20 notes. Upon entering a shop he promptly set off every electronic monitor he walked through. With the assistance of the shop staff and their electronic ‘wand’ they managed to narrow the problem down to Dave’s wallet. He then removed his cash from the wallet and purchased some aluminium foil to wrap it with. The monitors failed to go off and proved that the cash was causing the disruptions.

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND

In 2006, Hitachi released a prototype chip 0.15mm in length, but reduced the size even further the following year. Hitachi have now produced a RFID device measuring just 0.05mm in length. It is so small that it borders on being invisible, which has earned it the nickname ‘RFID powder’.

Although miniscule in size, it can still store a 38 digit ID number. A number of this length provides an almost infinite number of combinations, allowing businesses such as Walmart to provide a unique tracking number to all of their stock. Although the previous mu-chip was sufficiently small in size to perform this same task, an even smaller chip allows products to be embedded with multiple chips and therefore store greater amounts of data.

The RFID chips are becoming so small that they are becoming increasingly suitable for other applications. In addition to microchipping all of their cash supplies, the US and EU also have plans to microchip all of their citizens. Public negativity towards being microchipped has stalled the plans so far, but Hitachi’s latest offering has the potential to be introduced by stealth. The latest plan is to combine the microchip with one of the infant vaccines to ensure that the microchipping agenda is fulfilled.

Keeping on the topic of microchips inside the human body, Kodak has created edible and digestible RFID tags. The chip will be coated with gelatin and will proceed to be broken down by stomach acids. Intended for use in diagnosing medical problems and ensuring rebellious patients take their pills, these new RFID tags give a new meaning to ‘eating chips’.

THE SCARY REALITY

Cash containing tracking devices has been played up as the solution to counterfeit money problems. Over the years, the problem has attempted to be addressed numerous times, with security features such as watermarks, holograms, special inks, special threads, microprinting and foil strips all being implemented. But counterfeiters have always been able to overcome the obstacles put in front of them, and chipped money will not be any different.

It seems the science fiction writers have had it right all along. The introduction of chipped money always goes hand in hand with tyrannical governments obsessed with control. Cash has always been the tool of choice for people looking to operate outside of big brothers gaze, and is indeed the last measure of privacy for many people. With the full-blown introduction of microchipped cash, we can expect a stronger push towards alternative currencies such as gold and silver.

TECHNOLOGY IS HERE

With technology advancing every day, we are moving closer to a virtual society where everything will be tracked electronically. We are already under the gaze of numerous CCTV cameras recording our every move, along with cameras and other recording devices tracking our travel movements. While these forms of technology implementations are widely considered annoying and intrusive, advances in ‘convenience’ technology are welcomed with open arms.

One of these ‘convenience’ advances is the movement towards a cashless society. Money has always been a hassle to cart around, with the risk of loss or theft continually evident. There is also the issue of a heavy and bulky wallet, which has now been eliminated for users of credit and debit cards. These cards require minimal space to carry and offer a level of protection against theft or loss of funds.

Electronic forms of banking severely outperform traditional paper banking in terms of popularity in the 21^st Century. In fact, filing cabinets and hard copy documents are being replaced with electronic database storage for all sorts of critical information. Almost every single public document or correspondence has an electronic background, from passports, driver’s licences and birth records to utility bills, credit files and criminal records

With access to crucial documents and records available at the press of a button, life has been made much easier for all concerned. But there is a dark side to these technological advancements, with a raft of different criminals also taking advantage of the changes and using them to commit their devious crimes.

ID THEFT RISING

Much fuss has been made over the need to identify who we are and carry relevant documentation as proof. Technology was supposed to increase our level of protection, making it harder for documents to be forged or used without our consent. We are surrounded by watermarks, pin numbers, fingerprints and even eye scans, but there is still an increase in identity theft. One can only ask why.

The problem is that the human element has been removed. For all the benefits that technology can offer, at the end of the day it is still run by computer programs. Computers will never be perfect and the software coding will always contain loopholes that can be exploited. As long as we use technology, hackers will always find a way to compromise the programs that were created to protect us.

Identity theft and fraud are becoming an increasing concern in Australia. The Identity Crimes Report showed that ID fraud was up 23% this year, while more than 1.5 million people had their credit card skimmed and more than 1.2 million Australian’s had their bank accounts illegally accessed. The figures are a cause for concern and detail the problems that technological advances are responsible for.

HACKERS ON TOP OF THEIR GAME

Credit card theft has been a major problem for decades. Banks have faced numerous issues, including forged signatures and skimming machines which capture all the details on the card. The banks have now been pushing for the widespread adoption of pin numbers for credit and debit cards, meaning that even if the thieves can steal the credit card or its details, they will be stuck without knowing the pin number.

This form of protection has now been turned on its head, as hackers have found a way to crack the card and gain access to the pin number, regardless of whether the pin was encrypted or not. This spells trouble for consumers, who were previously protected against fraudulent credit card transactions with the bank refunding any lost balances. Now if a thief withdraws cash from an ATM, the onus is on the customer to prove they didn’t withdraw it, meaning that they may be liable for large losses.

The latest technology being deployed for identification purposes is RFID tags. They are being added to everything from passports to drivers licences and have privacy advocates up in arms over potential dangers from both hackers and oppressive governments. Government spokesmen claim that the RFID tags can only be read from up to 10cm, but independent testing has blown those claims out of the water, with results showing readings gained from over 50m.

Television stations have taken the opportunity to create great news content by hiring hackers to test the level of security of passports and other documents. Dutch, British and American passports fitted with RFID tags were easily compromised and they were able to gain full access to all personal details contained on the passports. One such test featured an American hacker sitting in his car, who was able to wirelessly gain access to cards from his laptop within just twenty minutes time.

RISKS ARE ENORMOUS

As detailed above, adopting these new technologies will pose an enormous danger to the general public. Apart from the risk of having your bank account cleared out without any chance of getting the money back, the unprotected RFID tagged public documents could land someone in jail or even pose a threat to their life.

We only need to look at what happened with the release of the UK National ID card to get the full picture as to how dangerous these cards can be. The prospective card was broken and cloned within twelve minutes, with the hacker gaining access to a minefield of data. They were also able to change details on the card, such as removing the person’s entitlement to benefits and even adding a warning visible to police upon scanning the card, reading “I am a terrorist, shoot on sight.”

This technology poses a huge risk for us all and plays out like a Hollywood storyline. Just like the movie Changing Lanes where an individual was able to destroy someone’s life by having their financial records modified, a hacker could alter someone’s RFID enabled ID and list that they are a paedophile or wanted for terrorism offences. It is highly likely that innocent people will spend time in jail for crimes they didn’t commit because of these cards.

The only sane advice is to avoid these new forms of technology like the plague. Your life may depend on it.