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Howdy Pilgrim
Welcome to VetZine's Blog
Concatenation
The linking together
of a series of events or ideas
''The Domino Theory''
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we are at war
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Enemy ?
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Daily Dispatches
from the Trenches
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Monday, September 27, 2004
Thought Police
RFID Tracker Spy Chips
Ashcroft Embedded In Your Calvins
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CASPIAN Newsletter newsletter@nocards.org
RFID tags hidden in Abercrombie, Calvin Klein and Champion
clothing labels
Mon, 27 Sep 2004 03:25:44 -0400
Dear CASPIAN members and supporters:
I have disturbing news from the RFID front lines. CASPIAN has
uncovered evidence of industry plans to deploy RFID tracking devices
in consumer clothing items.
A $600 million company called Checkpoint has developed prototype
labels containing RFID spychips for Abercrombie & Fitch, Calvin
Klein, and Champion sportswear. These tags contain tiny computer
chips with unique ID numbers that can be read remotely by anyone with
the right equipment.
CNET picked up the story on Friday, September 24th. You can read it
at:
http://networks.silicon.com/lans/0,39024663,39124341,00.htm
Photos of the spychipped clothing labels can be seen on our website
at:
http://www.spychips.com/press-releases/checkpoint-photos.html
Potentially, people wearing the tagged clothing items could be
identified and tracked as they pass through Checkpoint-equipped
doorways and store portals, as they stand near Checkpoint's retail
"smart shelves" containing hidden RFID reader devices, or when they
enter Checkpoint's planned RFID "smart zones" in stores.
Checkpoint has an infrastructure of anti-theft reader devices already
in place at stores and libraries around the world. (Look at the
bottom of the next security portal you pass through and you may see
the Checkpoint name.) These portals could be retrofitted to silently
read and record the unique ID numbers contained in Checkpoint's new
clothing tags, or in any other item Checkpoint may be tagging.
Since there is no legal requirement for companies to tell consumers
when products they buy contain RFID tags, this may already be
happening.
Earlier this year, Checkpoint announced the purchase of 100 million
RFID tags from vendor Matrics. Nearly a year ago, a senior Checkpoint
executive boasted that "the technology is ready to pilot," and
revealed that "we're working with forward-thinking consumer product
goods manufacturers and retail clients on pilots."
CASPIAN, on the other hand, will be working with consumers on an
aggressive response to this privacy threat. Roll up your sleeves and
get ready for a good fight.
In freedom,
Katherine Albrecht
CASPIAN Founder and Director
=====================================================================
Links to more information:
Checkpoint's RFID-laced clothing labels
http://www.spychips.com/press-releases/checkpoint-photos.html
CASPIAN's press release:
http://www.spychips.com/press-releases/checkpoint.html
CNET article: "Retailer to put RFID chips in all clothing"
http://networks.silicon.com/lans/0,39024663,39124341,00.htm
Checkpoint is "the world's largest integrator of RFID technology into
consumer product packaging"
http://www.checkpointsystems.com/content/news/press_releases_archives_display.aspx?news_id=59
Checkpoint and GOLIATH to use RFID for point-of-purchase advertising
http://www.checkpointsystems.com/content/news/press_releases_display.aspx?news_id=61
Checkpoint buys 100 million RFID tags from Matrics
http://www.rfidjournal.com/article/articleview/853/1/1/
Checkpoint ready for pilots, demos "smart shelf" and "smart zone"
http://www.checkpointsystems.com/content/news/press_releases_archives_display.aspx?news_id=58
Learn more about "smart shelves" from our Gillette boycott site
http://www.boycottgillette.com/spychips.html
=====================================================================
Consumers Against Supermarket Privacy Invasion and Numbering
(CASPIAN) is a grass-roots consumer group fighting retail
surveillance schemes since 1999. With thousands of members in all 50
U.S. states and over 30 countries worldwide, CASPIAN seeks to educate
consumers about marketing strategies that invade their privacy and to
encourage privacy-conscious shopping habits across the retail
spectrum.
For more information, see:
http://www.spychips.com and http://www.nocards.org
posted by Vetzine
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