No one likes the idea of Big Brother spying on our every move. But it may not be Big Brother we have to worry about. It may just be the cupcakes we pack in our kids lunches. It seems merchants Sara Lee, Kellogg, Nestle, Coca-Cola, Pepsico, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Wal-Mart want to hack into our clothing, our food, even our medicine by implanting these items with RFID devices.
As small as a grain of rice, RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) can be used to track movements of supplies - and the people who use them. Just ask Gillette who used these devices to surreptitiously photograph customers attempting to purchase their razor blades. Trojaned devices have the ability to broadcast, the ability to download new software, the ability to morph into something far more insidious than the currently described "pallet-level monitoring" proclaimed by the merchants. Indeed, these abilities are so profound, it may well be the reason these vendors are attempting to get their use of them protected under Homeland Security - to thwart lawsuits that might arise from future undisclosed uses.
It would not be the first time misuse of a provision or device has occurred. Consider the manner in which the DCMA has been interpreted by the RIAA, now using it to extort subscriber information from ISPs and sue filesharing users at the tune of $150,000 per illegal mp3 found. Their first victims - a 71 year-old grandpa and a 12 year-old honors student living in public housing.
