Friday, February 23, 2007

Micro RFID chips raise privacy concerns

dailyaztec

Science fiction movies and books often portray the future as a world in which every individual has been tattooed with a barcode and can be easily traced by anyone at any time. However bleak this image is, recent advancements in radio frequency identification have shown us pieces of this bleak world and a possible utopia.

RFID is a technology that uses small microchips to transmit stored data through the use of radio frequencies.

A common RFID application is the FasTrak electronic toll-payment system used by Caltrans on highways around California. The FasTrak badge is a type of RFID transponder that uses radio signals to send credit card information to the radio terminal at a toll station.

While this sort of technology has been in use in California since the early 1990s, the most recent application of this technology has shown promise for the future, as well as some questionable features. Some retailers use RFID to track the whereabouts of products in stores and to have the ability to see if a certain product has been stocked improperly.

Many people fear that as RFID technology gets cheaper and easier to use it will be misused at the public's expense. Groups of privacy advocates fear a sort of Orwellian future with every individual being implanted with an RFID chip to eliminate the need for money and forms of identification, thus making us lose our individuality because they would branded like cattle.

Such startling uses have been put into practice already. Several nightclubs in Europe have implanted RFID chips in their VIP members to make it easier for them to gain access to exclusive places. While this application is quite odd, the fear of the government using RFID to track Americans is a greater fear. The government could possibly know the whereabouts of all its citizens at any given time if a nationwide application to RFID was used.

On Valentine's Day, Japanese chip maker Hitachi unveiled a new advancement in RFID technology to further any speculation of the possible misuses. Hitachi showed the world the creation of RFID powder. Hitachi developed what it calls mu-chips or .05 mm by .05 mm RFID chips, which are smaller than a grain of rice.

There were immediate speculations of the possibility that a person could be given an RFID chip and not know. It could be inconspicuously slipped into food, clothing or one's body given its ultra-small size. It even has the possibility of being embedded within a piece of paper and effortlessly track the whereabouts of any person.

Debra Bowen, who is running for Secretary of State, said in a 2003 hearing, "How would you like it if, for instance, one day you realized your underwear was reporting on your whereabouts?" There is an inherent fear that America's consumer society would be amplified even more so with corporations reporting our whereabouts in order to increase the effectiveness of advertising that would entice people to purchase more. Should Best Buy employees really know that you went to Circuit City after you discovered its prices are higher?

However, the technology's possible practical applications could rival any misuse. The U.S. government is already placing RFID chips in passports for electronic identification of citizens and to deter forgeries. If the mu-chips were to be embedded in paper and money, counterfeit documents and money could be a thing of the past. If stolen, a mu-chip unknown to the thief could be used in tracking the document in question once it passes through RFID readers in an unauthorized area. The proof of a legal document could be proven with RFID technology and $100 bills would no longer require the meticulous inspection upon its use.

Consumer buying trends, product tracking and data collection could be better than ever with the application of the technology to a greater degree.

Privacy in the United States and identification systems must balance each other out in the future with the increasing questioning and development of the RFID technology. Whether the technology can be misused will be debated for a long time; however, forms of RFID will be continuous because it's like any other technological advancement that will help people in the future.

What else can Israel ask of President Bush?

Rice
haaretz
A hackneyed joke about former secretary of state Colin Powell's mission to Ramallah and Jerusalem in 2002, which began with an attempt to achieve a cease-fire and ended in a loud squabble with Yasser Arafat, was revived this week in a corridor conversation between a visiting Israeli and a Washingtonian friend. "Powell's mission was somewhat successful. He came back alive," quoted the visitor. The context: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's visit to the Middle East this week. She too came back alive, "If you can call that alive," commented the Israeli visitor.

Rice went to the Middle East with no expectations and returned with no achievements. The Mecca agreement has a golden share in this unsurprising failure. But a place of honor is also reserved for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. In recent months Olmert has been criticized from every direction and in every possible area. But one thing cannot be taken from him: There is no one more adept at power games and sparring with political rivals than he is. This week he demonstrated this again, in the moves that preceded the tripartite summit in Jerusalem. Rice did not manage to do much to stop him.

Olmert knows that there are those in President George W. Bush's camp who are also baffled by Rice's diplomatic activism. Statements that she made in interviews last week reminded some of them of former president Bill Clinton's delusional months leading up to Camp David. On Friday, when Rice was en route to the region, Olmert and Bush spoke on the phone. It is not clear who called whom, and what exactly was said, but Olmert announced after the conversation that Bush is in line with him about insisting on "the Quartet's conditions" for the Palestinian government: recognize Israel, renounce terror and honor previous Palestinian-Israeli agreements. Rice's aides quickly took note of the message. Their Israeli interlocutors had gotten the impression that they sounded more committed and determined than before to enforce the Quartet's conditions and to boycott the Palestinian unity government.

Bush

In recent weeks there has been lively discussion in Jerusalem surrounding the question of where these special relations are headed, and whether it is a good idea to ask Bush for a farewell gift. Some believe that since Bush is the best thing to ever happen to Israel, it is important to exploit the remainder of his term to upgrade relations.

But what should be upgraded, and how, is up for debate. Yoram Ben-Zeev, the deputy director for North America at the Foreign Ministry, has led a series of discussions on the creation of a new umbrella agreement that would combine all the memoranda of understanding between the United States and Israel, give them new validity and highlight the special nature of the relations.

Former Foreign Ministry director general Ron Prosor offered a different approach. Instead of formulating a large agreement, it would be better if Bush gave a quiet order to the bureaucracy in Washington to support Israel on a number of sensitive issues. Prosor's approach is that at a time when U.S. opposition to military involvement in the Middle East is surging, Israel can show some consideration. Instead of asking for defense treaties, it should simply say: "Give us the tools and we'll do the work."

There are three Israeli upgrade requests in the pipeline, one of which concerns civilian cooperation in the nuclear file - now limited because of Israel's refusal to join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). The exemption India received from these restrictions has encouraged the Israel Atomic Energy Commission to try to obtain similar easements, even if they are limited. Other requests concerned access to advanced military technology for quality intelligence - a hint at a possible conflict with Iran.

Senior officials in the defense establishment believe that Israel should strive for the achievement of an increase in American military aid. The current agreement that defines American aid to Israel will expire next year, and with it the civilian economic aid will end as well. Israel wants another $50 million annually in the coming decade to be added to the sum it receives for military aid - which currently stands at $2.4 billion a year. The government has accepted this position and has decided that the increase in aid should be the main focus, that it would be better to put the other upgrade requests on a back burner for now.

Iran complains of nuclear bullying

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Critics of Iran's nuclear program are "bullying" Iran, its current president and a former president declared Friday, as they put up a united front a day after the United Nations' nuclear watchdog issued a report that opens the way for additional sanctions against Iran.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and influential former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani lashed out in separate speeches Friday at Western countries and the U.N. Security Council, though without naming them directly.

Their comments appeared as senior diplomats from the five permanent Security Council members and Germany prepared to meet on Monday in London to start work on a new resolution to try to pressure Iran to suspend its nuclear program.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns, who announced the London meeting in Washington, said Iran was "effectively thumbing its nose at the international community."

The speeches by Ahmadinejad and Rafsanjani appeared to show that the Iranian ruling establishment is closing ranks in the face of new measures against Iran.

Divisions emerged over Ahmadinejad's handling of the nuclear standoff following the council's adoption of limited economic sanctions against Iran in December.

Some Iranians believe Ahmadinejad has been too antagonistic of the U.S. and its allies. Rafsanjani in recent weeks has emerged as a high-level advocate of a more conciliatory stance toward the West in the nuclear dispute.

Ahmadinejad told thousands of people gathered in a northern Iranian town, "The Iranian nation has resisted all bullies and corrupt powers and it will fully defend its rights," state television quoted him as saying.

The hardline president appeared to dismiss the International Atomic Energy Agency report, which said Tehran had expanded its program of uranium enrichment and continued to build a heavy water reactor and related facilities. (Read the full report)

"If a few states do not believe that Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, this is of no importance whatsoever," state television quoted the president as telling a rally in Fuman.

"This is the spirit of arrogance and culture of aggressive powers," the official Islamic Republic News Agency also quoted Ahmadinejad as saying during the same speech.

"If you pull back, they will push ahead but if you stand against them, because of this resistance, they will back off."

Meanwhile, the former President Rafsanjani told worshippers gathered for Friday prayers in Tehran that Western countries would fail to achieve anything by "bullying" Iran.

Rafsanjani, a high-ranking cleric, holds seats on two of Iran's most important government bodies.

"Following yesterday's report, they again began a harsh steps and threats while thinking about another resolution," Rafsanjani said in the speech broadcast live by state radio, adding "they will get nowhere this way."

The IAEA's report follows the expiration Wednesday of a 60-day grace period for Iran to halt uranium enrichment.

In a warning to the U.S. and its Western allies who want Iran to roll back its nuclear program, Rafsanjani said, "If you continue this bullying way, you will definitely make many troubles for yourselves, the world and the region."

But he also reiterated Iran's offer for talks. "We -- all of us, our officials, our leader -- are ready to provide you full assurances."
Three demands

The Security Council issued three demands to Iran when it adopted its resolution December 23 -- freeze uranium enrichment, stop building heavy water facilities and fully cooperate with the IAEA.

The U.S. and its Western allies have insisted Iran must suspend enrichment before it will enter any negotiations over its nuclear program -- a condition Tehran has rejected as it pushes ahead with developing its enrichment facilities.

Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful, but the U.S. and other Western countries accuse it of using it as a cover to develop weapons.

Among the permanent council members meeting in London on Monday, Britain and France are likely to join the U.S. in a call for harsher sanctions than Russia and China, which both have strong commercial ties to Tehran, will accept.

Diplomats said Thursday that new measures under consideration include a mandatory travel ban against individuals on the U.N. list, new individuals and companies subject to sanctions, additional prohibited items, economic measures such as a ban on export guarantees to Iran, and an expansion of the nuclear embargo to an arms embargo.

U.S. Undersecretary of State Burns said a new resolution was needed to "see Iran repudiated again" but said it was too soon to say what provisions the resolution might contain.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said he had "no substantive comment" on the IAEA report. "We should not lose sight of the goal -- and the goal is not to have a resolution or to impose sanctions," Churkin said. "The goal is to accomplish a political outcome."
Council unity

Several council diplomats have stressed the importance of maintaining council unity on a new resolution -- even if means sacrificing tougher sanctions.

Stressing the importance of unity, U.S. deputy ambassador Jackie Sanders said Thursday "we do need to ratchet up the pressure and Iran needs to see an international community that stays coordinated and showing common purpose to have them stop what they're doing in developing nuclear weapons."

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy echoed the importance, saying, "unity and firmness are ... the only effective instruments we have to get Iran to turn toward the international community, and away from isolation."

"We support a second resolution, to be passed unanimously by the Security Council, to continue sanctions," he said.

Two diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because negotiations haven't even started, spoke of an "incremental" strengthening of sanctions in a new resolution to ensure that unity is preserved.

The permanent council members believe the initial sanctions have had some positive effects. Iran now says it wants negotiations, though it still refuses to suspend enrichment.

Whether new sanctions can bring Tehran to comply with the council's demands remains to be seen.

"It's Iran's refusal to talk which right now has gotten Iran in a lot of hot water," said Burns. "Iran is increasingly isolated, and we hope Iran is going to choose negotiations."