[rdfweb-dev] fwd: German RFID Scandal: Hidden devices, unkillable tags found in Metro Future Store

[Benjamin Nowack]

and to keep it compatible with metro, we should then add an 

<owl:Restriction>
   <owl:onProperty rdf:resource="&metro;identifiedInformation"/>
   <owl:allValuesFrom rdf:resource="&content;UnencryptedData"/>
</owl:Restriction>

Katherine Albrecht used a standard RFID reader and could easily
access the loyalty cards' plain text. she even overwrote the
stored info.

this reminds me of the dating service that was discussed here
a couple of weeks ago:
"find blond girls only (auto-identify and exclude hair-dyers)"
"before dating add 100000 credits to my loyalty card so that I
 can fake wealth and buy her nice presents"

I suggest adding foaf:rfid to the spec as soon as bluetooth or
wifi RFID readers/writers are available ;-)


benjamin (based_near german metro future store)




On 06.02.2004 05:35:36, Dan Brickley wrote:
>So, how would you folks feel about adding foaf:rfid ?
>
>(as a potential property for any geo:SpatialThing...)
>
>/me ducks for cover
>
>Dan
>
>----- Forwarded message from CASPIAN Newsletter <newsletter at nocards.org> -----
>
>From: CASPIAN Newsletter <newsletter at nocards.org>
>Date: Fri, 06 Feb 2004 01:27:23 -0500
>To: newsletter at nocards.org
>Subject: German RFID Scandal: Hidden devices, unkillable tags found in
>	Metro Future Store
>Message-Id: <1076048533.17098.7204.camel at caspian>
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
>
>February 5, 2004
>
>German RFID Scandal: Hidden devices, unkillable tags found in Metro
>Future Store
>Germans say, "Nein! We wont be your versuchskaninchen"
>
>"We won't be your versuchskaninchen." That's the message German privacy
>advocates are sending to executives at the Metro Future Store in
>Rheinberg, Germany after discovering RFID devices hidden in the store's
>loyalty cards. They also found that RFID tags on products sold at the
>store cannot be completely deactivated after purchase, despite Metro's
>claims.
>
>"Versuchskaninchen" is the German word for guinea pig, which is how
>German consumers feel Metro and its partners have treated them since
>opening the Future Store last year to test experimental RFID
>applications on live shoppers.
>
>The revelations came just one day after Katherine Albrecht, founder and
>director of CASPIAN (Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and
>Numbering) toured the Future Store with a delegation of privacy experts
>from German advocacy group FoeBud, who sponsored her visit.
>
>"We were shocked to find RFID tags in Metro's 'Payback' loyalty card,"
>said Albrecht, after FoeBuD tested the cards with an RFID reader and
>discovered the tag. "The card application form, brochures, and signage
>at the store made no mention of the embedded technology and Metro
>executives spent several hours showing us the store without telling us
>about it."
>
>"In retrospect, it's no wonder store employees appeared nervous when we
>asked to take a few of the cards with us," she added.
>
>Vendors of RFID-enabled loyalty cards promote them as a way for
>supermarkets to identify shoppers remotely as they enter the store,
>using details of their identity and purchase history to pitch products
>to them and to track their movements and activities within the store.
>Prior to the Metro discovery, no major retailer had publicly admitted to
>using such cards.
>
>In addition to the cards, Albrecht discovered that Metro cannot
>deactivate the unique identification number contained in RFID tags in
>products it sells.  The use of unique, item-level ID numbers is one of
>the key privacy concerns surrounding the use of RFID tags on consumer
>goods.
>
>"Customers are misled into believing that the tags can be killed at a
>special deactivation kiosk, but the kiosk only rewrites a portion of the
>tag, while leaving the unique ID number intact," she said.
>
>Outraged German citizens are calling on Metro to put an immediate end to
>the trials.
>
>"We are deeply disappointed at the Metro executives. They talked of an
>open dialog while hiding important facts from us," said Rena Tangens of
>FoeBuD. "We are calling for an immediate moratorium on further RFID
>testing as it is clear that Metro is not handling the technology
>responsibly."
>
>Evidence of the RFID tag in Metro's "Payback" loyalty card, along with
>evidence of the incomplete deactivation of product tags, can be found on
>FoeBuD's website at http://www.foebud.org/rfid/.
>
>For more information, see http://www.spychips.com
>and http://www.nocards.org.
>Katherine Albrecht, CASPIAN Founder and Director: (877) 287-5854
>Liz McIntyre, CASPIAN Communications: (877) 287-5854 or liz at nocards.org
>
>                                  ###
>
>----- End forwarded message -----
>
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