Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-18 Thread Thomas Shaddack
 I can imagine some ways to deal with this. Have certain blocks of RFID
 address space assigned to specific companies, who publish what products
 they'll be used for.

The same strategy AFAIK works for UPC/EAN barcodes, for assigning IMEI
numbers to cellphones, for book ISBNs.

For an example description of the IMEI format check here:
http://www.cellular.co.za/ieminumbers.htm (they refer to it as IEMI, don't
ask me why).

 They won't specify what *individuals* will get what tags, just that
 it's a $2,500 Prada handbag -- which still raises the crime concern.

Why would anyone *want* to invest $2k5 to a lousy handbag? There are LOTS
of more useful things in that cost range.

 Or you could use a multi-tier system like our current DNS setup. The
 root RFID address-space servers will point queries to rfid.example.com...

Could work neatly. It works for DNS, it works for eg. antispam blackholes,
it works for many other purposes, it's reasonably fast. Could be
implemented on existing DNS software in a single weekend.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-18 Thread Tim May
On Tuesday, March 18, 2003, at 01:05  AM, Thomas Shaddack wrote:

They won't specify what *individuals* will get what tags, just that
it's a $2,500 Prada handbag -- which still raises the crime concern.
Why would anyone *want* to invest $2k5 to a lousy handbag? There are 
LOTS
of more useful things in that cost range.

Not anyoneinstead, think any woman.

Which is its own answer.

High-maintenance women require a steady diet of Fendi bags, Cartier 
necklaces, and $400 dinners at French Laundry.

Hookers are a lot more cost-effective.

BTW, I wonder if the RFID tags can be programmed to advertise 
themselves? Maybe an audio circuit that chirps Three thousand dollars 
when a society bimbo enters Le Effete Chantrelle through the 
mandatory security turnstyle?

--Tim May



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-18 Thread Mike Rosing
On Tue, 18 Mar 2003, Trei, Peter wrote:

 Mike, Go to the literature. They are already scanning 20 - 1000 of
 tags per second (most of the more realistic reports seem to be
 below 50 tps). So it takes 10 seconds to scan my cart? That's
 a hell of a lot better than 5 minutes or so by hand.

I'll go do that.  I always saw those as 1 item at a time scans on
conveyor belts.  That's *not* the same thing as a cart full of stuff
responding simultaneously.


 References::
 http://www.cfo.com/article/1,5309,8661,00.html?f=related (CFO magazine)
 Library applications (v scary)
 http://www.vernlib.com/VernStep6.asp
 For some actual rates:
 http://www.autoid.org/2002_Documents/WG4_SG3/Dec2002/SG3_200211_347_PtB_Demo
 .pdf
 Critical article on library applications
 http://www.vtls.com/Products/rfid/documents/choosing.pdf
 200-800 tps:
 http://www.matricsrfid.com/pdf/Inlays_Data_Sheet.pdf

Note in the last one it says:
* Single inlay, free air, no obstacles, high performance Matrics reader
equipment. U.S. FCC power limits implied.

So the manufacturer is pointing out only *one* rfid is in the scanner.

Which is my point - a whole cart load won't work (yet!)  I suspect it will
in time.

 ...now if we can only get rid of the delays caused by people who've clipped
 50 coupons, and insist on paying by check

:-)  One of these days that'll be me!

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-18 Thread Trei, Peter
 Mike Rosing[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 
 
 On Mon, 17 Mar 2003, Michael Shields wrote:
 
  It adds up, especially in low-margin businesses.  Groceries are a good
  example; unpacking every cart, scanning, and bagging is an expensive
  bottleneck.  The process could be streamlined a lot if an entire cart
  were scanned at once.
 
  There are serious engineering problems before we get there; but the
  demand from retailers is very real, and so a very real effort will be
  made to solve them.
 
 I can see a couple of solutions to the checkout problem.  One is to
 remove checkout counters, just scan the item at the shelf with a card.
 
 With rfid this actually becomes a lot simpler, you can isolate items to
 specific regions of the store.  If the item is removed, it had better
 already be purchased or you get busted.
 
I'd expect to see scanners at each entrance and exit, as well as at
points where an object's status changes (stockroom vs sales floor, 
checkout, etc)

All that has to be done is to scan the pallet of goods as it goes out to be
shelved, adding the tags on the pallet to the 'unsold goods' list. Then, if
a tag leaves the store without going through one of the approved routes 
(eg: Checkout - customer exit; expired goods - backdoor (expired 
goods can be recognized by the time the tag was added to the db)),
raise the alarm.

Heve you ever seen a store shut down for stocktaking? It won't happen
any more.

Shrinkage (ie, employee theft) becomes much more difficult. So
does shoplifting. Checkout times are reduced to under a minute, 
even for full carts. 

 A whole cart load of items responding simultaneously won't work, at least
 not with 5 cent rfid's of the next few years.  In a decade maybe cdma rfid
 will be 5 cents.
 
Mike, Go to the literature. They are already scanning 20 - 1000 of 
tags per second (most of the more realistic reports seem to be
below 50 tps). So it takes 10 seconds to scan my cart? That's
a hell of a lot better than 5 minutes or so by hand.

References::
http://www.cfo.com/article/1,5309,8661,00.html?f=related (CFO magazine)
Library applications (v scary)
http://www.vernlib.com/VernStep6.asp
For some actual rates:
http://www.autoid.org/2002_Documents/WG4_SG3/Dec2002/SG3_200211_347_PtB_Demo
.pdf
Critical article on library applications
http://www.vtls.com/Products/rfid/documents/choosing.pdf
200-800 tps:
http://www.matricsrfid.com/pdf/Inlays_Data_Sheet.pdf

 Removing the bottleneck of checkout counters would be *very good thing*
 because most people hate standing in line.  Of course, digital cash would
 be really nice to have for that too!
 
...now if we can only get rid of the delays caused by people who've clipped
50 coupons, and insist on paying by check

 Patience, persistence, truth,
 Dr. mike
 
Peter



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-18 Thread Thomas Shaddack
 I can imagine some ways to deal with this. Have certain blocks of RFID
 address space assigned to specific companies, who publish what products
 they'll be used for.

The same strategy AFAIK works for UPC/EAN barcodes, for assigning IMEI
numbers to cellphones, for book ISBNs.

For an example description of the IMEI format check here:
http://www.cellular.co.za/ieminumbers.htm (they refer to it as IEMI, don't
ask me why).

 They won't specify what *individuals* will get what tags, just that
 it's a $2,500 Prada handbag -- which still raises the crime concern.

Why would anyone *want* to invest $2k5 to a lousy handbag? There are LOTS
of more useful things in that cost range.

 Or you could use a multi-tier system like our current DNS setup. The
 root RFID address-space servers will point queries to rfid.example.com...

Could work neatly. It works for DNS, it works for eg. antispam blackholes,
it works for many other purposes, it's reasonably fast. Could be
implemented on existing DNS software in a single weekend.



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-18 Thread Trei, Peter
 Mike Rosing[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 
 
 On Mon, 17 Mar 2003, Michael Shields wrote:
 
  It adds up, especially in low-margin businesses.  Groceries are a good
  example; unpacking every cart, scanning, and bagging is an expensive
  bottleneck.  The process could be streamlined a lot if an entire cart
  were scanned at once.
 
  There are serious engineering problems before we get there; but the
  demand from retailers is very real, and so a very real effort will be
  made to solve them.
 
 I can see a couple of solutions to the checkout problem.  One is to
 remove checkout counters, just scan the item at the shelf with a card.
 
 With rfid this actually becomes a lot simpler, you can isolate items to
 specific regions of the store.  If the item is removed, it had better
 already be purchased or you get busted.
 
I'd expect to see scanners at each entrance and exit, as well as at
points where an object's status changes (stockroom vs sales floor, 
checkout, etc)

All that has to be done is to scan the pallet of goods as it goes out to be
shelved, adding the tags on the pallet to the 'unsold goods' list. Then, if
a tag leaves the store without going through one of the approved routes 
(eg: Checkout - customer exit; expired goods - backdoor (expired 
goods can be recognized by the time the tag was added to the db)),
raise the alarm.

Heve you ever seen a store shut down for stocktaking? It won't happen
any more.

Shrinkage (ie, employee theft) becomes much more difficult. So
does shoplifting. Checkout times are reduced to under a minute, 
even for full carts. 

 A whole cart load of items responding simultaneously won't work, at least
 not with 5 cent rfid's of the next few years.  In a decade maybe cdma rfid
 will be 5 cents.
 
Mike, Go to the literature. They are already scanning 20 - 1000 of 
tags per second (most of the more realistic reports seem to be
below 50 tps). So it takes 10 seconds to scan my cart? That's
a hell of a lot better than 5 minutes or so by hand.

References::
http://www.cfo.com/article/1,5309,8661,00.html?f=related (CFO magazine)
Library applications (v scary)
http://www.vernlib.com/VernStep6.asp
For some actual rates:
http://www.autoid.org/2002_Documents/WG4_SG3/Dec2002/SG3_200211_347_PtB_Demo
.pdf
Critical article on library applications
http://www.vtls.com/Products/rfid/documents/choosing.pdf
200-800 tps:
http://www.matricsrfid.com/pdf/Inlays_Data_Sheet.pdf

 Removing the bottleneck of checkout counters would be *very good thing*
 because most people hate standing in line.  Of course, digital cash would
 be really nice to have for that too!
 
...now if we can only get rid of the delays caused by people who've clipped
50 coupons, and insist on paying by check

 Patience, persistence, truth,
 Dr. mike
 
Peter



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-18 Thread Tim May
On Tuesday, March 18, 2003, at 01:05  AM, Thomas Shaddack wrote:

They won't specify what *individuals* will get what tags, just that
it's a $2,500 Prada handbag -- which still raises the crime concern.
Why would anyone *want* to invest $2k5 to a lousy handbag? There are 
LOTS
of more useful things in that cost range.

Not anyoneinstead, think any woman.

Which is its own answer.

High-maintenance women require a steady diet of Fendi bags, Cartier 
necklaces, and $400 dinners at French Laundry.

Hookers are a lot more cost-effective.

BTW, I wonder if the RFID tags can be programmed to advertise 
themselves? Maybe an audio circuit that chirps Three thousand dollars 
when a society bimbo enters Le Effete Chantrelle through the 
mandatory security turnstyle?

--Tim May



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-17 Thread Michael Shields
In article [EMAIL PROTECTED],
Mike Rosing [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 Yeah, and it takes a second or 2 to find the bar code.  That's got
 to cost a few pennies doesn't it :-)

It adds up, especially in low-margin businesses.  Groceries are a good
example; unpacking every cart, scanning, and bagging is an expensive
bottleneck.  The process could be streamlined a lot if an entire cart
were scanned at once.

There are serious engineering problems before we get there; but the
demand from retailers is very real, and so a very real effort will be
made to solve them.
-- 
Shields.



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-17 Thread Mike Rosing
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003, Trei, Peter wrote:

 You're not thinking this through. As the item goes through the door (in
 either direction) the check is made Is this individual tag on this store's
 'unsold inventory' list?. If so, raise the alarm. The tags are not fungible;
 they each have a unique number. When you purchase an item, it's tag
 number is transfered from the 'unsold inventory' list to the 'Mike Rosing'
 list, or, if no link to a name can be found, 'John Doe #2345'.

I hope you're right because the amount of engineering work that will
be required to make this work is huge!  That's a lot of job security
for EE's.

 As you walk up to the counter, the tag in your jockey shorts is read,
 and you are greeted by name, even if you've never been in that store
 before.

And who's going to pay for that info?  The tag is made by TI, but
the store you walk into buys from Phillips.  That means the reader has to
recognize all the standards (and there aren't any right now, so it has to
recognize every individual frequency and data stream).  Then there has to
be some kind of _central_ database that *everyone* has access to.
You can't determine who the customer is if they aren't in your database,
so a centralized database would make sense.  The bandwidth on that is
going to be a nightmare.

 What's more, for stock control, they have 'smart shelves', so they can
 also say 'Mary, go get some more black hipster jeans in 34x34 and
 put them out - the shelf says it's empty.

Yeah, that's easy.  It's still within the store's control

 As for RFID tags vs bar codes - you missing out the labor cost
 differential - RFID tags can be read by a fixed reader at several feet,
 while bar codes must be indvidually scanned.

Yeah, and it takes a second or 2 to find the bar code.  That's got
to cost a few pennies doesn't it :-)

 The tag cost is already down to under a dime. When it's under a
 nickle, these things will be in everything. Think about them in books.

Our library already has a tagging system.  You put your card down
and the bar code on it gets read, then slide the book barcode over it
and the book is checked out, assuming you don't have any fines.  So
it's already in place.

But for those who have a clue, mylar is going to be very popular :-)

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-17 Thread Mike Rosing
On Mon, 17 Mar 2003, Declan McCullagh wrote:

 I can imagine some ways to deal with this. Have certain blocks of RFID
 address space assigned to specific companies, who publish what products
 they'll be used for. They won't specify what *individuals* will get what
 tags, just that it's a $2,500 Prada handbag -- which still raises the
 crime concern.

Which is a good reason for them to turn it off at the counter.  People
that can afford those things can complain loudly.

 Or you could use a multi-tier system like our current DNS setup. The
 root RFID address-space servers will point queries to rfid.example.com...

Job security anyone :-)  pun intended!

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-17 Thread Declan McCullagh
On Mon, Mar 17, 2003 at 06:39:08AM -0800, Mike Rosing wrote:
 You can't determine who the customer is if they aren't in your database,
 so a centralized database would make sense.  The bandwidth on that is
 going to be a nightmare.

I can imagine some ways to deal with this. Have certain blocks of RFID
address space assigned to specific companies, who publish what products
they'll be used for. They won't specify what *individuals* will get what
tags, just that it's a $2,500 Prada handbag -- which still raises the
crime concern.

Or you could use a multi-tier system like our current DNS setup. The
root RFID address-space servers will point queries to rfid.example.com...

-Declan



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-17 Thread Mike Rosing
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003, Trei, Peter wrote:

 You're not thinking this through. As the item goes through the door (in
 either direction) the check is made Is this individual tag on this store's
 'unsold inventory' list?. If so, raise the alarm. The tags are not fungible;
 they each have a unique number. When you purchase an item, it's tag
 number is transfered from the 'unsold inventory' list to the 'Mike Rosing'
 list, or, if no link to a name can be found, 'John Doe #2345'.

I hope you're right because the amount of engineering work that will
be required to make this work is huge!  That's a lot of job security
for EE's.

 As you walk up to the counter, the tag in your jockey shorts is read,
 and you are greeted by name, even if you've never been in that store
 before.

And who's going to pay for that info?  The tag is made by TI, but
the store you walk into buys from Phillips.  That means the reader has to
recognize all the standards (and there aren't any right now, so it has to
recognize every individual frequency and data stream).  Then there has to
be some kind of _central_ database that *everyone* has access to.
You can't determine who the customer is if they aren't in your database,
so a centralized database would make sense.  The bandwidth on that is
going to be a nightmare.

 What's more, for stock control, they have 'smart shelves', so they can
 also say 'Mary, go get some more black hipster jeans in 34x34 and
 put them out - the shelf says it's empty.

Yeah, that's easy.  It's still within the store's control

 As for RFID tags vs bar codes - you missing out the labor cost
 differential - RFID tags can be read by a fixed reader at several feet,
 while bar codes must be indvidually scanned.

Yeah, and it takes a second or 2 to find the bar code.  That's got
to cost a few pennies doesn't it :-)

 The tag cost is already down to under a dime. When it's under a
 nickle, these things will be in everything. Think about them in books.

Our library already has a tagging system.  You put your card down
and the bar code on it gets read, then slide the book barcode over it
and the book is checked out, assuming you don't have any fines.  So
it's already in place.

But for those who have a clue, mylar is going to be very popular :-)

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-17 Thread Mike Rosing
On Mon, 17 Mar 2003, Declan McCullagh wrote:

 I can imagine some ways to deal with this. Have certain blocks of RFID
 address space assigned to specific companies, who publish what products
 they'll be used for. They won't specify what *individuals* will get what
 tags, just that it's a $2,500 Prada handbag -- which still raises the
 crime concern.

Which is a good reason for them to turn it off at the counter.  People
that can afford those things can complain loudly.

 Or you could use a multi-tier system like our current DNS setup. The
 root RFID address-space servers will point queries to rfid.example.com...

Job security anyone :-)  pun intended!

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-17 Thread Michael Shields
In article [EMAIL PROTECTED],
Mike Rosing [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 Yeah, and it takes a second or 2 to find the bar code.  That's got
 to cost a few pennies doesn't it :-)

It adds up, especially in low-margin businesses.  Groceries are a good
example; unpacking every cart, scanning, and bagging is an expensive
bottleneck.  The process could be streamlined a lot if an entire cart
were scanned at once.

There are serious engineering problems before we get there; but the
demand from retailers is very real, and so a very real effort will be
made to solve them.
-- 
Shields.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-17 Thread Mike Rosing
On Mon, 17 Mar 2003, Michael Shields wrote:

 It adds up, especially in low-margin businesses.  Groceries are a good
 example; unpacking every cart, scanning, and bagging is an expensive
 bottleneck.  The process could be streamlined a lot if an entire cart
 were scanned at once.

 There are serious engineering problems before we get there; but the
 demand from retailers is very real, and so a very real effort will be
 made to solve them.

I can see a couple of solutions to the checkout problem.  One is to
remove checkout counters, just scan the item at the shelf with a card.

With rfid this actually becomes a lot simpler, you can isolate items to
specific regions of the store.  If the item is removed, it had better
already be purchased or you get busted.

A whole cart load of items responding simultaneously won't work, at least
not with 5 cent rfid's of the next few years.  In a decade maybe cdma rfid
will be 5 cents.

Removing the bottleneck of checkout counters would be *very good thing*
because most people hate standing in line.  Of course, digital cash would
be really nice to have for that too!

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-15 Thread Neil Johnson
Think of the fun things one could do.

- Never leave the house with mismatched socks again !

- Fashion Police !
Clubs could automatically enforce dress codes (No plaid allowed !)

Smart Doors ! 
Sorry sir! you weigh 300lbs and you are wearing only speedos, you are not 
allowed out side

Or my favorite:
Senator John Smith, our detectors currently show that you are wearing a bra 
and panties from Victoria's Secret under your suit, care to explain ?

-- 
Neil Johnson
http://www.njohnsn.com
PGP key available on request.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-15 Thread Bill Frantz
At 8:03 AM -0800 3/14/03, Steve Schear wrote:
Wonder what happens when one of the tags is placed in a microwave
oven.  Its likely to do some instant damage without harming many tagged
articles, if they aren't left in long.  I would think that the RFID
manufactures would WANT to design their tags for such easy destruction to
placate consumer privacy fears.

Some doctors recommend microwaving clothing to inhibit diseases that can
live in the clothing and re-infect the wearer.  I don't know what will
happen to dry-clean only stuff.

Cheers - Bill




-
Bill Frantz   | Due process for all| Periwinkle -- Consulting
(408)356-8506 | used to be the | 16345 Englewood Ave.
[EMAIL PROTECTED] | American way.  | Los Gatos, CA 95032, USA



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-14 Thread Trei, Peter
 Mike Rosing[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 
 
  They don't want to deactivate them. Go back and read the SFGate
  article I linked in my initial post. They want to recognize when a
  loyal customer returns, so they can pull up his/her profile and give
  then personalized treatment.
 
 And what happens when the personalized treatment is cold sholder
 because of buying the competitions product?  My bet is they'll just
 issue an rfid card and not use the inventory control for that purpose.
 
 Connecting inventory control to customer preferences can't be done without
 an alternate device.  I can see how the grocery store will want to track
 your purchases over time to give you discounts on other products, and sell
 the info to various competing interests.  Discount stores will also do the
 same thing, but the bar code tags already give that info.  rfid doesn't
 add anything, it just gets in the way of store security (why keep track
 of *every* item purchased by *everybody* to prevent theft of CD's???)
 
 What I'm trying to say is that the info the stores want on you is already
 there and in use.  The rfid helps track items without the bar code,
 and in places you can't read a bar code (like when lots of items are in
 a box).  It can also be used for theft prevention.  But you need to
 disable it to prevent having to deal with goods bought the week before
 in a store on the other side of the world.
 
 If the stores *don't* use the rfid's for security, and they can already
 use the bar codes for inventory, what good are they?  Bar code readers are
 much cheaper than rfid readers and so is the paper tag that holds the
 bar code.  There's no economic sense for the rfid tag in the first place.
 
 Patience, persistence, truth,
 Dr. mike
 
You're not thinking this through. As the item goes through the door (in
either direction) the check is made Is this individual tag on this store's
'unsold inventory' list?. If so, raise the alarm. The tags are not fungible;
they each have a unique number. When you purchase an item, it's tag
number is transfered from the 'unsold inventory' list to the 'Mike Rosing'
list, or, if no link to a name can be found, 'John Doe #2345'.

As you walk up to the counter, the tag in your jockey shorts is read,
and you are greeted by name, even if you've never been in that store
before.

What's more, for stock control, they have 'smart shelves', so they can
also say 'Mary, go get some more black hipster jeans in 34x34 and
put them out - the shelf says it's empty.

As for RFID tags vs bar codes - you missing out the labor cost
differential - RFID tags can be read by a fixed reader at several feet,
while bar codes must be indvidually scanned.

The tag cost is already down to under a dime. When it's under a
nickle, these things will be in everything. Think about them in books.

Peter Trei



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-14 Thread Trei, Peter
 Mike Rosing[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 
 As Declan points out, the tags can be disabled at the counter.  I would
 think that since they have no internal power source, building something to
 fry their innards would be easy, and you don't need a microwave oven.
 
 Just like they pass items over a magnet to let you get past the present
 coils at a store exit, they can turn off the rfid to prove you bought
 something rather than stole it.  To avoid lots of problems with people
 walking around with clothing from other stores, they may all want to make
 sure purchased goods are deactivated (fried permenently).  I can just
 see people going from the Gap to Victoria's Secret and getting arrested
 for buying the competition.  The economics of that won't work too well :-)
 
They don't want to deactivate them. Go back and read the SFGate
article I linked in my initial post. They want to recognize when a
loyal customer returns, so they can pull up his/her profile and give
then personalized treatment.

Peter



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-14 Thread Mike Rosing
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003, Trei, Peter wrote:

 They don't want to deactivate them. Go back and read the SFGate
 article I linked in my initial post. They want to recognize when a
 loyal customer returns, so they can pull up his/her profile and give
 then personalized treatment.

And what happens when the personalized treatment is cold sholder
because of buying the competitions product?  My bet is they'll just
issue an rfid card and not use the inventory control for that purpose.

Connecting inventory control to customer preferences can't be done without
an alternate device.  I can see how the grocery store will want to track
your purchases over time to give you discounts on other products, and sell
the info to various competing interests.  Discount stores will also do the
same thing, but the bar code tags already give that info.  rfid doesn't
add anything, it just gets in the way of store security (why keep track
of *every* item purchased by *everybody* to prevent theft of CD's???)

What I'm trying to say is that the info the stores want on you is already
there and in use.  The rfid helps track items without the bar code,
and in places you can't read a bar code (like when lots of items are in
a box).  It can also be used for theft prevention.  But you need to
disable it to prevent having to deal with goods bought the week before
in a store on the other side of the world.

If the stores *don't* use the rfid's for security, and they can already
use the bar codes for inventory, what good are they?  Bar code readers are
much cheaper than rfid readers and so is the paper tag that holds the
bar code.  There's no economic sense for the rfid tag in the first place.

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-14 Thread Declan McCullagh
On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 08:24:35AM -0800, Mike Rosing wrote:
 I think economics would be a better argument.  If the manufacturer
 can recycle the tags for inventory control they can save a lot of money.

And public pressure. Here's a piece I wrote a few months ago that
included some recommendations:

RFID tags: Big Brother in small packages
http://news.com.com/2010-1069-980325.html

-Declan



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-14 Thread Harmon Seaver
On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 12:40:27AM -0500, Declan McCullagh wrote:
 On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 08:24:35AM -0800, Mike Rosing wrote:
  I think economics would be a better argument.  If the manufacturer
  can recycle the tags for inventory control they can save a lot of money.
 
 And public pressure. Here's a piece I wrote a few months ago that
 included some recommendations:
 
 RFID tags: Big Brother in small packages
 http://news.com.com/2010-1069-980325.html


   Interesting article, Declan. Seems like the future shopper would be prudent
to have a reader/detector to check for tags, just as now we have to check all
over a garment for labels/tags/pins. Or somewhat like Cayce in Pattern
Recognition removing the logos of her clothes, even sanding down the buttons,
etc.

-- 
Harmon Seaver   
CyberShamanix
http://www.cybershamanix.com



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-14 Thread Steve Schear
At 09:38 AM 3/14/2003 -0600, Harmon Seaver wrote:
On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 12:40:27AM -0500, Declan McCullagh wrote:
 On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 08:24:35AM -0800, Mike Rosing wrote:
  I think economics would be a better argument.  If the manufacturer
  can recycle the tags for inventory control they can save a lot of money.

 And public pressure. Here's a piece I wrote a few months ago that
 included some recommendations:

 RFID tags: Big Brother in small packages
 http://news.com.com/2010-1069-980325.html
Wonder what happens when one of the tags is placed in a microwave 
oven.  Its likely to do some instant damage without harming many tagged 
articles, if they aren't left in long.  I would think that the RFID 
manufactures would WANT to design their tags for such easy destruction to 
placate consumer privacy fears.

steve



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-14 Thread Mike Rosing
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003, Trei, Peter wrote:

 They don't want to deactivate them. Go back and read the SFGate
 article I linked in my initial post. They want to recognize when a
 loyal customer returns, so they can pull up his/her profile and give
 then personalized treatment.

And what happens when the personalized treatment is cold sholder
because of buying the competitions product?  My bet is they'll just
issue an rfid card and not use the inventory control for that purpose.

Connecting inventory control to customer preferences can't be done without
an alternate device.  I can see how the grocery store will want to track
your purchases over time to give you discounts on other products, and sell
the info to various competing interests.  Discount stores will also do the
same thing, but the bar code tags already give that info.  rfid doesn't
add anything, it just gets in the way of store security (why keep track
of *every* item purchased by *everybody* to prevent theft of CD's???)

What I'm trying to say is that the info the stores want on you is already
there and in use.  The rfid helps track items without the bar code,
and in places you can't read a bar code (like when lots of items are in
a box).  It can also be used for theft prevention.  But you need to
disable it to prevent having to deal with goods bought the week before
in a store on the other side of the world.

If the stores *don't* use the rfid's for security, and they can already
use the bar codes for inventory, what good are they?  Bar code readers are
much cheaper than rfid readers and so is the paper tag that holds the
bar code.  There's no economic sense for the rfid tag in the first place.

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-14 Thread Trei, Peter
 Mike Rosing[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 
 
  They don't want to deactivate them. Go back and read the SFGate
  article I linked in my initial post. They want to recognize when a
  loyal customer returns, so they can pull up his/her profile and give
  then personalized treatment.
 
 And what happens when the personalized treatment is cold sholder
 because of buying the competitions product?  My bet is they'll just
 issue an rfid card and not use the inventory control for that purpose.
 
 Connecting inventory control to customer preferences can't be done without
 an alternate device.  I can see how the grocery store will want to track
 your purchases over time to give you discounts on other products, and sell
 the info to various competing interests.  Discount stores will also do the
 same thing, but the bar code tags already give that info.  rfid doesn't
 add anything, it just gets in the way of store security (why keep track
 of *every* item purchased by *everybody* to prevent theft of CD's???)
 
 What I'm trying to say is that the info the stores want on you is already
 there and in use.  The rfid helps track items without the bar code,
 and in places you can't read a bar code (like when lots of items are in
 a box).  It can also be used for theft prevention.  But you need to
 disable it to prevent having to deal with goods bought the week before
 in a store on the other side of the world.
 
 If the stores *don't* use the rfid's for security, and they can already
 use the bar codes for inventory, what good are they?  Bar code readers are
 much cheaper than rfid readers and so is the paper tag that holds the
 bar code.  There's no economic sense for the rfid tag in the first place.
 
 Patience, persistence, truth,
 Dr. mike
 
You're not thinking this through. As the item goes through the door (in
either direction) the check is made Is this individual tag on this store's
'unsold inventory' list?. If so, raise the alarm. The tags are not fungible;
they each have a unique number. When you purchase an item, it's tag
number is transfered from the 'unsold inventory' list to the 'Mike Rosing'
list, or, if no link to a name can be found, 'John Doe #2345'.

As you walk up to the counter, the tag in your jockey shorts is read,
and you are greeted by name, even if you've never been in that store
before.

What's more, for stock control, they have 'smart shelves', so they can
also say 'Mary, go get some more black hipster jeans in 34x34 and
put them out - the shelf says it's empty.

As for RFID tags vs bar codes - you missing out the labor cost
differential - RFID tags can be read by a fixed reader at several feet,
while bar codes must be indvidually scanned.

The tag cost is already down to under a dime. When it's under a
nickle, these things will be in everything. Think about them in books.

Peter Trei



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-14 Thread alan
On Fri, 14 Mar 2003, Adam Shostack wrote:

 On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 01:22:44PM -0500, Trei, Peter wrote:
 
 | You're not thinking this through. As the item goes through the door (in
 | either direction) the check is made Is this individual tag on this store's
 | 'unsold inventory' list?. If so, raise the alarm. The tags are not fungible;
 | they each have a unique number. When you purchase an item, it's tag
 | number is transfered from the 'unsold inventory' list to the 'Mike Rosing'
 | list, or, if no link to a name can be found, 'John Doe #2345'.
 | 
 | As you walk up to the counter, the tag in your jockey shorts is read,
 | and you are greeted by name, even if you've never been in that store
 | before.
 
 People will find this spooky, and it will stop, but how much you've
 spent over the last year will still be whispered into the sales
 clerk's ear bug, along with advice the woman in the green jacket 12
 feet from you spends an average of $1,000 per visit, go fawn on her.
 And remind her that the jacket is nearly a year old.  Very last
 season.

Day of the RIFDs

I can also see an even nastier probable RISKS article.

You buy an item.  The system is either down or crashes soon after the item 
is purchaced.  (Or better yet, gets wiped out after a restore from an old 
backup tape.)

It never makes it to the master database.

You are now marked as a probable shoplifter. 

Now prove that you are not.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-14 Thread Adam Shostack
On Fri, Mar 14, 2003 at 01:22:44PM -0500, Trei, Peter wrote:

| You're not thinking this through. As the item goes through the door (in
| either direction) the check is made Is this individual tag on this store's
| 'unsold inventory' list?. If so, raise the alarm. The tags are not fungible;
| they each have a unique number. When you purchase an item, it's tag
| number is transfered from the 'unsold inventory' list to the 'Mike Rosing'
| list, or, if no link to a name can be found, 'John Doe #2345'.
| 
| As you walk up to the counter, the tag in your jockey shorts is read,
| and you are greeted by name, even if you've never been in that store
| before.

People will find this spooky, and it will stop, but how much you've
spent over the last year will still be whispered into the sales
clerk's ear bug, along with advice the woman in the green jacket 12
feet from you spends an average of $1,000 per visit, go fawn on her.
And remind her that the jacket is nearly a year old.  Very last
season.

Adam

-- 
It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.
   -Hume



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Tyler Durden


If I build the mugger's little
helper, a PDA attachement that scans for real prada bags, then perhaps
the RFID tag will be removed at the counter after the first lawsuit.
Nice! Possibly, it might not even be necessary for the Little Helper to 
read the tag, only detect its presence. Counterfeit bags probably won't have 
the tag, and if they do (and the copies are good enough), the mugger won't 
care.

I'm also wondering about sending a fake tag signal to the Benneton detector. 
How many fake tags could a cleverly designed gizmo shoot out at the 
detector, and in how much time? If a signal indicating 100s of items are 
passing through hits that detector a couple of times a day for a week or so, 
they'll definitely take it off line. (And I'd doubt they use any crypto or 
authentication-type coding on those tags...do they?)

-TD

Brinworld my ass!



From: Adam Shostack [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: Trei, Peter [EMAIL PROTECTED]
CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Brinwear at Benetton.
Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 10:51:03 -0500
On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 10:22:14AM -0500, Trei, Peter wrote:
| Some research is being done in RSA Labs to produce more
| privacy-enhanced protocols for RFIDs, but it's a long way from
| publication, and its unclear what would motivate a tag manufacturer
| to include them.
The biggest motivators I can see are law and liability.  If you can
make the case to Europe's data protection commissioners that these
tags will be linked to individual information, and can then be used to
track people, then perhaps the tags will include privacy tech of some
sort.  (Although Ari presented at FC this year, and pointed out just
how few gates there are to work with.)
The other motivator is liability.  If I build the mugger's little
helper, a PDA attachement that scans for real prada bags, then perhaps
the RFID tag will be removed at the counter after the first lawsuit.
(Naturally, we'll sell the mugger's little helper as a tool for
undercover counterfeit investigations.  We can't help that the street
finds its own uses for things.)
Adam

--
It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.
   -Hume


_
MSN 8 helps eliminate e-mail viruses. Get 2 months FREE*.  
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/virus



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Adam Shostack
On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 11:57:27AM -0500, Tyler Durden wrote:
| If I build the mugger's little
| helper, a PDA attachement that scans for real prada bags, then perhaps
| the RFID tag will be removed at the counter after the first lawsuit.
| 
| Nice! Possibly, it might not even be necessary for the Little Helper to 
| read the tag, only detect its presence. Counterfeit bags probably won't 
| have the tag, and if they do (and the copies are good enough), the mugger 
| won't care.

We designed the Pickpocket's pal to detect large amounts of currency
this way.  It just helps you size up your victim, or at least size up
their wad of cash.

(There were some complications, because the tags do try not to chat at
the same time, but hey, how well designed do you think a 10c item is?)

Adam

-- 
It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.
   -Hume




Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Declan McCullagh
On Wed, Mar 12, 2003 at 12:56:15PM -0800, Tim May wrote:
 Various lengths of metallic conductors are already inside various 
 banknotes. This is NOT the same technology as RFID. I don't disagree
 about it being a concern, and an area for study and experiment, but be 
 careful not to leap to conclusions about banknotes being a location 
 finder.

Tim is correct, but perhaps the person earlier in the thread (don't remember
who it was) had been thinking of this:

Euro bank notes to embed RFID chips by 2005
http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20011219S0016

-Declan



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Bill Stewart
At 12:21 PM 03/12/2003 -0800, Tim May wrote:
They are entitled to set their alarms to trigger on CDs in my laptop case, 
books from other stores, etc.

But they are not contractually entitled in any way to cause me to reverse 
my direction and return inside their store for a meaningless examination 
of my briefcase (or purse, were I a chick). They can of course invite the 
police to make an arrest.

That would be interesting.  Several people might earn the coveted death 
warrant.
Is that like one of those Jeff Foxworthy things?

You might be in need of killin' if ..

Also, to add another Brinworld connection, he at least occasionally pronounces
the name of one of his recent books (Kiln People) as Killin' People;
having not read it, I'm not sure how much that's meant to be a pun
as opposed to just enunciation.


Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Adam Shostack
On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 08:24:35AM -0800, Mike Rosing wrote:
| On Thu, 13 Mar 2003, Adam Shostack wrote:
| 
|  On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 10:22:14AM -0500, Trei, Peter wrote:
|  The other motivator is liability.  If I build the mugger's little
|  helper, a PDA attachement that scans for real prada bags, then perhaps
|  the RFID tag will be removed at the counter after the first lawsuit.
| 
| I think economics would be a better argument.  If the manufacturer
| can recycle the tags for inventory control they can save a lot of money.
| 10 cents per item isn't much, but at millions of items it becomes worth
| while.  Having the tag removed at the counter so they can be sent back to
| the manufacturer along with returns and defects saves money, and that
| argument carries more weight to someone trying to make a profit than
| anything else.

Having a counter clerk mess with a 10c embedded item is a loss.
Longer lines, less throughput, etc.

It may not matter at Prada, but it does at the grocery store.

Adam

-- 
It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.
   -Hume



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Trei, Peter
 alan[SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 
 On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Tim May wrote:
 
   Regarding TEMPEST shielding - there is another, complementary approach
 
   for
   shielding: jamming. There are vendors selling devices that drown the
 RF
   emissions of computer equipment in noise, so TEMPEST receivers get
   nothing. Are there any publicly available specs of such generators, or
   even building plans?
  
  Jamming is grossly less efficient than detection. If you want an 
  explanation, let me know and I'll spend 10 minutes writing a small 
  piece on it. But first, think deeply about why this is so. Think 
  especially about recovering signals from noise.
 
 It sounds like there is an opertunity here for the right person.  Open up 
 a place to clean your clothes of all those little RFID tags and other 
 buglets people are so interested in attaching to any object (nailed down 
 or not).
 
When I posted this to Dave Farber's IP list, I added 'Maybe I should start
microwaving my underwear'. I'd make an educated guess that 2-3 seconds
in my Amana would fry any tag's little brains out, and when I get a chance,
I'll try it.

One thing I worry about is a limited access tag - one which only 
responds when tickled with the right stimulus. Such a tag could be
undetectable to the taggee.

It's clear that a lot of the people in this thread have not followed the
links in my original post. The SFGate article is quite illuminating, and
lists several other companies which are tagging their goods, including
Prada, and Gillette, for their Mach3 razors.

Another good article is:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/25/technology/25THEF.html?ex=1047190811ei=1;
en=304071a324b09cf5
which lists a large number of retailer pilot programs.
Also, look into http://www.alientechnology.com, which is selling
some of the cheapest tags - now under 10 cents.

Some research is being done in RSA Labs to produce more 
privacy-enhanced protocols for RFIDs, but it's a long way from
publication, and its unclear what would motivate a tag manufacturer
to include them.

The strips in current US currency are not metallic, they're polymer.
If you hold them up to the light, you can see they are clear except for
the printing of the denomination. Older British currancy DID include
a metallic strip (I remember teasing them out back in the 70's).

Peter Trei



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Adam Shostack
On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 10:22:14AM -0500, Trei, Peter wrote:
| Some research is being done in RSA Labs to produce more 
| privacy-enhanced protocols for RFIDs, but it's a long way from
| publication, and its unclear what would motivate a tag manufacturer
| to include them.

The biggest motivators I can see are law and liability.  If you can
make the case to Europe's data protection commissioners that these
tags will be linked to individual information, and can then be used to
track people, then perhaps the tags will include privacy tech of some
sort.  (Although Ari presented at FC this year, and pointed out just
how few gates there are to work with.)

The other motivator is liability.  If I build the mugger's little
helper, a PDA attachement that scans for real prada bags, then perhaps
the RFID tag will be removed at the counter after the first lawsuit.

(Naturally, we'll sell the mugger's little helper as a tool for
undercover counterfeit investigations.  We can't help that the street
finds its own uses for things.)

Adam


-- 
It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.
   -Hume



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Thomas Shaddack
  Hadn't knew about mu metal. Thanks. :) Could be a nice thing for EM
  shielding, especially of things like transformers.

 Don't go jumping into the abyss without some knowledge.

Right. Later I found mu-metal is just a fancy name for Permalloy which I
worked with some time ago.

 (ObCredentials: I worked inside a double-walled Faraday cage in 1972-73
 doing Josephson junction experiments with superconducting
 quantum-interferometric devices, aka SQUIDs. I did a lot of shaping and
 bending of mu metal. I also later worked near Faraday cages and had
 occasion to do more experiments in them.)

The closest encounter I had with superconductors was when I was helping a
friend with some measurements on some uranium-based ceramics. Was both
brief and nice, and I lost fear of liquid nitrogen there.

  Besides, EU plans to embed RF tags into paper money.

 Various lengths of metallic conductors are already inside various
 banknotes. This is NOT the same technology as RFID. I don't disagree
 about it being a concern, and an area for study and experiment, but be
 careful not to leap to conclusions about banknotes being a location
 finder.

I am VERY aware about the current metal strip. I am not worried about them
at all.

I am worried about the embedding of REAL RFID tags. The metal strip then
could serve dual purpose, as an anticounterfeit device itself, and as the
tag antenna. The banknotes could then carry their own history. The only
consolation is that it will get cracked within few months at most.

See here:
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/BraveNewEuro7jan02.shtml
http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20011219S0016

 Jamming is grossly less efficient than detection. If you want an
 explanation, let me know and I'll spend 10 minutes writing a small
 piece on it. But first, think deeply about why this is so. Think
 especially about recovering signals from noise.

Had my brush, though only theoretical, with integrating repeating signals
back at school, when I was learning how to interpret NMR spectrums and how
they work. (Good old times, it feels like yesterday.)

Sorry, hadn't specified I am not talking about RFID tags anymore; was
thinking about at least partially alleviating/sidestepping the problems
with shielding of standard desktop computers.

But will be definitely interested in the minilecture.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread R. A. Hettinga
At 4:24 AM -0800 on 3/12/03, alan wrote:


 Open up 
 a place to clean your clothes of all those little RFID tags

Oxpecker.com seems to be for sale, for a price...

:-)

Cheers,
RAH

-- 
-
R. A. Hettinga mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience. -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Neil Johnson
RFID technology for libraries ...

http://www.demco.com/CGI-BIN/LANSAWEB?PROCFUN+LWDCWEB+LWDC025+PRD+ENG+FUNCPARMS+ZZWSESSID(A0200):29762251880047332521+ZZWNAVPAG(A0100):PROMO+DATESEQ(A0140):31210321918+FC_AZZWHDRCMP:DEMCO_HEADER+FC_AZZWNEWZON:ADM+FC_AZZWNAVPAG:PRODUCT+FC_AZZWNEWHDR:DEMCO_HEADER+FC_AZZWCATCDE:+FC_AW_KEYMSCD:+FC_SW_PRDBBID:7483

So the man can now know what books you taking on the flight (Hopefully not the 
flight training manual for the aircraft).

-- 
Neil Johnson
http://www.njohnsn.com
PGP key available on request.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Neil Johnson
On Wednesday 12 March 2003 06:24 am, alan wrote:
 It sounds like there is an opertunity here for the right person.  Open up
 a place to clean your clothes of all those little RFID tags and other
 buglets people are so interested in attaching to any object (nailed down
 or not).

Gives new meaning to those Hane's T-shirt commericals starring Jackie Chan and 
Michael Jordan during the Superbowl. 

They were advertising their Tagless T-shirts.

I see an upsurge in handmade clothing coming too.
(of course that will have to be followed by homemade cloth, etc.)


-- 
Neil Johnson
http://www.njohnsn.com
PGP key available on request.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Neil Johnson
On Wednesday 12 March 2003 09:13 pm, Neil Johnson wrote:
 RFID technology for libraries ...

 http://www.demco.com/CGI-BIN/LANSAWEB?PROCFUN+LWDCWEB+LWDC025+PRD+ENG+FUNCP
ARMS+ZZWSESSID(A0200):29762251880047332521+ZZWNAVPAG(A0100):PROMO+DATESEQ(A0
140):31210321918+FC_AZZWHDRCMP:DEMCO_HEADER+FC_AZZWNEWZON:ADM+FC_AZZWNAVPAG:
PRODUCT+FC_AZZWNEWHDR:DEMCO_HEADER+FC_AZZWCATCDE:+FC_AW_KEYMSCD:+FC_SW_PRDBB
ID:7483

 So the man can now know what books you taking on the flight (Hopefully not
 the flight training manual for the aircraft).


Oh hell, should have known better about the URL.

Goto http://www.demco.com and search for RFID.

Sorry.
-- 
Neil Johnson
http://www.njohnsn.com
PGP key available on request.



RE: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Thomas Shaddack
 One thing I worry about is a limited access tag - one which only
 responds when tickled with the right stimulus. Such a tag could be
 undetectable to the taggee.

A nonlinear junction detector could be a reliable way to find it.

You won't find a tag hidden in an electronics device (NLJDs are handy to
find semiconductor junctions in general, so you'd get too many false
positives.) You could find it reliably in eg. a t-shirt or a banknote,
where there is no electronics supposed to be.

Besides, if such technology will be popular enough, the readers will have
to be widely available on the open market. If there will be a code
specific for each class of the readers, it will be possible to eavesdrop
it in the vicinity of the given reader.



Pondering the banknotes. The muggers will never have to follow their
victim from a bankomat through a dark park anymore. They will just wait
there, remotely scanning the wallets of potential victims, picking the
ones stupid enough to carry more money without using a wire-mesh purse.
The cops could use it too, for picking the persons with suspicious amount
of cash - see the seizure of cash under asset forfeiture laws, dubbed
War on Cash. Just musing...



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Mike Rosing
On Thu, 13 Mar 2003, Adam Shostack wrote:

 On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 10:22:14AM -0500, Trei, Peter wrote:
 The other motivator is liability.  If I build the mugger's little
 helper, a PDA attachement that scans for real prada bags, then perhaps
 the RFID tag will be removed at the counter after the first lawsuit.

I think economics would be a better argument.  If the manufacturer
can recycle the tags for inventory control they can save a lot of money.
10 cents per item isn't much, but at millions of items it becomes worth
while.  Having the tag removed at the counter so they can be sent back to
the manufacturer along with returns and defects saves money, and that
argument carries more weight to someone trying to make a profit than
anything else.

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Major Variola (ret)
04:24 AM 3/12/03 -0800, alan wrote:
It sounds like there is an opertunity here for the right person.  Open
up
a place to clean your clothes of all those little RFID tags and other

buglets people are so interested in attaching to any object (nailed
down
or not).

Our Premium service includes checking for isotopic tracers (see Stasi),
magnetic/plastic layered (see smokeless powder) tags, and UV fluorescent
spy
tracing powders (see http://www.covertcomic.com/CCSchool.htm
spy dust).

--Cypherpunk Laundry Division



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Adam Shostack
On Thu, Mar 13, 2003 at 11:57:27AM -0500, Tyler Durden wrote:
| If I build the mugger's little
| helper, a PDA attachement that scans for real prada bags, then perhaps
| the RFID tag will be removed at the counter after the first lawsuit.
| 
| Nice! Possibly, it might not even be necessary for the Little Helper to 
| read the tag, only detect its presence. Counterfeit bags probably won't 
| have the tag, and if they do (and the copies are good enough), the mugger 
| won't care.

We designed the Pickpocket's pal to detect large amounts of currency
this way.  It just helps you size up your victim, or at least size up
their wad of cash.

(There were some complications, because the tags do try not to chat at
the same time, but hey, how well designed do you think a 10c item is?)

Adam

-- 
It is seldom that liberty of any kind is lost all at once.
   -Hume




Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-13 Thread Tyler Durden
1972-73 doing Josephson junction experiments with superconducting 
quantum-interferometric devices, aka SQUIDs

Isn't that a little early for SQUIDs?

-TD



_
Protect your PC - get McAfee.com VirusScan Online  
http://clinic.mcafee.com/clinic/ibuy/campaign.asp?cid=3963



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Tyler Durden
Nice post.

I guess it's just a matter of time before someone is charged with disabling 
the RF signature of one of these tags. I'd guess that here in the US, the 
rule will be if you bought it you can disable it, but prior to that you're 
not allowed to jam it.

Humm...one wonders if there's already some common electronics that emit in 
the same range as the scan, or if when defective (wink wink nudge nudge) 
will jam such a signal.

-TD




From: Thomas Shaddack [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: cypherpunks [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Brinwear at Benetton.
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 18:16:25 +0100 (CET)
Seems the trend is here. We can thank Benetton for providing us with
a playground for live tests of the capabilities and limits of the system.
We have several ways for countermeasures.

Passive countermeasures are shielding or tag destruction. We can locate
the transceiver, then enclose it in a Faraday cage. Or we can locate the
tag and physically remove or destroy it. Or we can irradiate the entire
object with powerful-enough electromagnetic radiation.
Active countermeasures can involve jammers, creating a RF privacy
sphere. One of the possibilities is a virtual tag that will respond to
read attempt with randomly generated signal strong enough to drown all
other tags in it. Or, to generate forged signatures, making the reader
think it is receiving a genuine signal, over which we have control;
allowing us to change our wireless appearance on-fly, even copying the
tag signatures of other people as they pass around, temporarily borrowing
them. The sky is the limit of possibilities here.
Part of the indirect passive countermeasures toy chest is a device that
will alert its owner when the RF read beam is detected, and allow
pinpointing its source.
The changes we are about to expect are moving the battle to another stage.
Let's get familiar with the new weapons about to hit the battlefield, and
devise the appropriate strategies.


_
The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE*  
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Thomas Shaddack

 I guess it's just a matter of time before someone is charged with disabling
 the RF signature of one of these tags. I'd guess that here in the US, the
 rule will be if you bought it you can disable it, but prior to that you're
 not allowed to jam it.

We will see. All depends on how detectable the fact of jamming will be.
Considering the public awareness about how the technology works, the
clerks will tend to panic that they are jammed when they kick off the
cable from the antenna, or claim that that damned crap broke down again
when they will really be jammed.

If the problem will become widespread, jammer detectors will appear.
Once they will get deployed, it's matter of couple days to few weeks until
their full specs appear in 2600 or Phrack or similar zine, and stealth
jammers will follow, spinning another round of arms race.

 Humm...one wonders if there's already some common electronics that emit in
 the same range as the scan, or if when defective (wink wink nudge nudge)
 will jam such a signal.

The RF tag frequency Benetton uses is something around 13 MHz. This is
unlikely to produce accidentally on too high power, though maybe if a
well-designed amplifier would start to oscillate (high-gain audio
amplifiers realized on high-frequency op-amps could be likely candidates,
dad had long time ago similar problem in range of 100s kHz with audio
preamplifiers with MAC157 opamps). The problem will be with accidental
antennas; in gigahertz-range frequencies basically any short piece of wire
or a suitable PCB trace does the job, while with low frequencies we have
to use either a large part of a construction as an antenna, or some coil.
(Disclaimer: My high-freq-fu isn't nearly as good as I'd like it to. Which
is also valid for more advanced analog electronics too. Working on it, but
it will take some more time.)

I think I posted some link here earlier about an accidental GPS jammer.




Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Harmon Seaver
On Wed, Mar 12, 2003 at 01:53:55PM -0500, Tyler Durden wrote:
 Nice post.
 
 I guess it's just a matter of time before someone is charged with disabling 
 the RF signature of one of these tags. I'd guess that here in the US, the 
 rule will be if you bought it you can disable it, but prior to that you're 
 not allowed to jam it.
 
 Humm...one wonders if there's already some common electronics that emit in 
 the same range as the scan, or if when defective (wink wink nudge nudge) 
 will jam such a signal.
 

   Don't know about those tags, but my laptop used to set off the library
electronic detector. 


-- 
Harmon Seaver   
CyberShamanix
http://www.cybershamanix.com



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Thomas Shaddack

Don't know about those tags, but my laptop used to set off the library
 electronic detector.

Some laptops carry a RFID tag, as asset control or
how'sthatdamnedthingcalled. Newer Toshibas(?) have their configuration
EEPROM chip (what is used today instead of CMOS RAM) as eg. AT24RF08
(check eg. http://www.elecdesign.com/1998/june0898/bb/0608bb4.shtml or
google atmel.com for the datasheet). Pondering to get one such chip to
play with, if I'll get time.

Carrying things in metal briefcases has the pleasant side effect of
shielding those little narcs.

The life is so short and there are so many toys! :)

PS: Doesn't anyone here know how are called those connectors that are used
to connect digital displays to computer cards? Those that have arrays of
holes in three rows in rectangular array, like eg. on recent Matrox
videocards? I need one and my favorite stores don't carry them and I can't
find it in any online catalogs without knowing its name.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Thomas Shaddack
  Hadn't knew about mu metal. Thanks. :) Could be a nice thing for EM
  shielding, especially of things like transformers.

 Don't go jumping into the abyss without some knowledge.

Right. Later I found mu-metal is just a fancy name for Permalloy which I
worked with some time ago.

 (ObCredentials: I worked inside a double-walled Faraday cage in 1972-73
 doing Josephson junction experiments with superconducting
 quantum-interferometric devices, aka SQUIDs. I did a lot of shaping and
 bending of mu metal. I also later worked near Faraday cages and had
 occasion to do more experiments in them.)

The closest encounter I had with superconductors was when I was helping a
friend with some measurements on some uranium-based ceramics. Was both
brief and nice, and I lost fear of liquid nitrogen there.

  Besides, EU plans to embed RF tags into paper money.

 Various lengths of metallic conductors are already inside various
 banknotes. This is NOT the same technology as RFID. I don't disagree
 about it being a concern, and an area for study and experiment, but be
 careful not to leap to conclusions about banknotes being a location
 finder.

I am VERY aware about the current metal strip. I am not worried about them
at all.

I am worried about the embedding of REAL RFID tags. The metal strip then
could serve dual purpose, as an anticounterfeit device itself, and as the
tag antenna. The banknotes could then carry their own history. The only
consolation is that it will get cracked within few months at most.

See here:
http://educate-yourself.org/cn/BraveNewEuro7jan02.shtml
http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20011219S0016

 Jamming is grossly less efficient than detection. If you want an
 explanation, let me know and I'll spend 10 minutes writing a small
 piece on it. But first, think deeply about why this is so. Think
 especially about recovering signals from noise.

Had my brush, though only theoretical, with integrating repeating signals
back at school, when I was learning how to interpret NMR spectrums and how
they work. (Good old times, it feels like yesterday.)

Sorry, hadn't specified I am not talking about RFID tags anymore; was
thinking about at least partially alleviating/sidestepping the problems
with shielding of standard desktop computers.

But will be definitely interested in the minilecture.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread R. A. Hettinga
At 4:24 AM -0800 on 3/12/03, alan wrote:


 Open up 
 a place to clean your clothes of all those little RFID tags

Oxpecker.com seems to be for sale, for a price...

:-)

Cheers,
RAH

-- 
-
R. A. Hettinga mailto: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation http://www.ibuc.com/
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience. -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Thomas Shaddack
Seems the trend is here. We can thank Benetton for providing us with
a playground for live tests of the capabilities and limits of the system.

We have several ways for countermeasures.

Passive countermeasures are shielding or tag destruction. We can locate
the transceiver, then enclose it in a Faraday cage. Or we can locate the
tag and physically remove or destroy it. Or we can irradiate the entire
object with powerful-enough electromagnetic radiation.

Active countermeasures can involve jammers, creating a RF privacy
sphere. One of the possibilities is a virtual tag that will respond to
read attempt with randomly generated signal strong enough to drown all
other tags in it. Or, to generate forged signatures, making the reader
think it is receiving a genuine signal, over which we have control;
allowing us to change our wireless appearance on-fly, even copying the
tag signatures of other people as they pass around, temporarily borrowing
them. The sky is the limit of possibilities here.

Part of the indirect passive countermeasures toy chest is a device that
will alert its owner when the RF read beam is detected, and allow
pinpointing its source.

The changes we are about to expect are moving the battle to another stage.
Let's get familiar with the new weapons about to hit the battlefield, and
devise the appropriate strategies.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Mike Rosing
On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Thomas Shaddack wrote:

 Seems the trend is here. We can thank Benetton for providing us with
 a playground for live tests of the capabilities and limits of the system.

 We have several ways for countermeasures.

 Passive countermeasures are shielding or tag destruction. We can locate
 the transceiver, then enclose it in a Faraday cage. Or we can locate the
 tag and physically remove or destroy it. Or we can irradiate the entire
 object with powerful-enough electromagnetic radiation.

I think you're over reacting.  RFID tags only have a range of centimeters.
You'd need a huge current to power them from more than 1 meter, and that's
just not going to be out on a beach in a hidden way.

Since the coupling is magnetic a Faraday cage won't work.  But a thin
piece of mu metal would work pretty well.

 The changes we are about to expect are moving the battle to another stage.
 Let's get familiar with the new weapons about to hit the battlefield, and
 devise the appropriate strategies.

It's just for inventory control!  They probably mount it on a tag you can
rip off when you go to wear the clothing.

The stuff you need to worry about is already out there as radio
transmitters being planted by cops in your keyboard.  The battle is
already engaged, how's our defense look against real threats?

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Declan McCullagh
On Wed, Mar 12, 2003 at 10:51:15AM -0800, Mike Rosing wrote:
 I think you're over reacting.  RFID tags only have a range of centimeters.
 You'd need a huge current to power them from more than 1 meter, and that's
 just not going to be out on a beach in a hidden way.

This is incorrect. I interviewed one RFID tag maker who said up to 15
feet in free space. Presumably a beefier transmitter or a more
sensitive receiver would allow longer ranges.

http://news.com.com/2010-1069-980325.html

-Declan



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Thomas Shaddack
On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Mike Rosing wrote:
 I think you're over reacting.  RFID tags only have a range of centimeters.
 You'd need a huge current to power them from more than 1 meter, and that's
 just not going to be out on a beach in a hidden way.

I heard these ones have range up to 1.5 meters. And you need much less
power if you use a directional antenna (which can be part of some fixed
installation).

 Since the coupling is magnetic a Faraday cage won't work.  But a thin
 piece of mu metal would work pretty well.

Wasn't aware about RF tags being magnetically coupled. Anyone other to
support/deny this?

Hadn't knew about mu metal. Thanks. :) Could be a nice thing for EM
shielding, especially of things like transformers.

 It's just for inventory control!  They probably mount it on a tag you can
 rip off when you go to wear the clothing.

If it will proliferate, alternate uses spring up as natural byproduct.
Until then, the countermeasures are cool toys.

Besides, EU plans to embed RF tags into paper money.

 The stuff you need to worry about is already out there as radio
 transmitters being planted by cops in your keyboard.  The battle is
 already engaged, how's our defense look against real threats?

Standard area-denial measures, physical security systems,
hardware/software audits, RF shielding?

Regarding TEMPEST shielding - there is another, complementary approach for
shielding: jamming. There are vendors selling devices that drown the RF
emissions of computer equipment in noise, so TEMPEST receivers get
nothing. Are there any publicly available specs of such generators, or
even building plans?



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Mike Rosing
On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Declan McCullagh wrote:

 This is incorrect. I interviewed one RFID tag maker who said up to 15
 feet in free space. Presumably a beefier transmitter or a more
 sensitive receiver would allow longer ranges.

I stand corrected, the one by Matrics looks very nice indeed:
http://www.matricsrfid.com/pdf/Tech_Overview_Data_Sheet.pdf

runs at 900+ MHz which gives it a good few meters range.

However, it still gets it's power from an outside source, so you
can easily tell when one is getting sampled.  Fortunatly the
higher the frequency, the easier it is to shield.  I still think
it's an over reaction to inventory control, but I guess it'd be a ton
of fun to build a reader and play with these things as people walk down
the street, just to see what you can see :-)

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Tim May
On Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 11:22 AM, Harmon Seaver wrote:

On Wed, Mar 12, 2003 at 01:53:55PM -0500, Tyler Durden wrote:
Nice post.

I guess it's just a matter of time before someone is charged with 
disabling
the RF signature of one of these tags. I'd guess that here in the US, 
the
rule will be if you bought it you can disable it, but prior to that 
you're
not allowed to jam it.

Humm...one wonders if there's already some common electronics that 
emit in
the same range as the scan, or if when defective (wink wink nudge 
nudge)
will jam such a signal.

   Don't know about those tags, but my laptop used to set off the 
library
electronic detector.

I've had _many_ things set off anti-theft detectors--not sure if it's 
my Titanium Powerbook, my cellphone, my Visor in my wallet, CDs in my 
bag, or just random noise.

I no longer stop and obediently re-enter the store and wait until they 
can send a manager over to inspect my items. I just keep walking.

A couple of times I've had clerks run out the door as I was about 20 
paces away saying Sir, sir! You'll have to come back inside!

I just ignore them.

They are entitled to set their alarms to trigger on CDs in my laptop 
case, books from other stores, etc.

But they are not contractually entitled in any way to cause me to 
reverse my direction and return inside their store for a meaningless 
examination of my briefcase (or purse, were I a chick). They can of 
course invite the police to make an arrest.

That would be interesting.  Several people might earn the coveted death 
warrant.

--Tim May



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Tim May
On Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 12:07 PM, Thomas Shaddack wrote:

On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Mike Rosing wrote:
I think you're over reacting.  RFID tags only have a range of 
centimeters.
You'd need a huge current to power them from more than 1 meter, and 
that's
just not going to be out on a beach in a hidden way.
I heard these ones have range up to 1.5 meters. And you need much less
power if you use a directional antenna (which can be part of some fixed
installation).
Since the coupling is magnetic a Faraday cage won't work.  But a thin
piece of mu metal would work pretty well.
Wasn't aware about RF tags being magnetically coupled. Anyone other to
support/deny this?
It's bullshit. 13 MHz is undeniably RF. Yes, magnetic fields are part 
of the electromagnetic field.

Hadn't knew about mu metal. Thanks. :) Could be a nice thing for EM
shielding, especially of things like transformers.
Don't go jumping into the abyss without some knowledge.

(ObCredentials: I worked inside a double-walled Faraday cage in 1972-73 
doing Josephson junction experiments with superconducting 
quantum-interferometric devices, aka SQUIDs. I did a lot of shaping and 
bending of mu metal. I also later worked near Faraday cages and had 
occasion to do more experiments in them.)
Besides, EU plans to embed RF tags into paper money.
Various lengths of metallic conductors are already inside various 
banknotes. This is NOT the same technology as RFID. I don't disagree 
about it being a concern, and an area for study and experiment, but be 
careful not to leap to conclusions about banknotes being a location 
finder.

Regarding TEMPEST shielding - there is another, complementary approach 
for
shielding: jamming. There are vendors selling devices that drown the RF
emissions of computer equipment in noise, so TEMPEST receivers get
nothing. Are there any publicly available specs of such generators, or
even building plans?
Jamming is grossly less efficient than detection. If you want an 
explanation, let me know and I'll spend 10 minutes writing a small 
piece on it. But first, think deeply about why this is so. Think 
especially about recovering signals from noise.



--Tim May
The State is the great fiction by which everyone seeks to live at the 
expense of everyone else. --Frederic Bastiat



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread alan
On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Tim May wrote:

  Regarding TEMPEST shielding - there is another, complementary approach 
  for
  shielding: jamming. There are vendors selling devices that drown the RF
  emissions of computer equipment in noise, so TEMPEST receivers get
  nothing. Are there any publicly available specs of such generators, or
  even building plans?
 
 Jamming is grossly less efficient than detection. If you want an 
 explanation, let me know and I'll spend 10 minutes writing a small 
 piece on it. But first, think deeply about why this is so. Think 
 especially about recovering signals from noise.

It sounds like there is an opertunity here for the right person.  Open up 
a place to clean your clothes of all those little RFID tags and other 
buglets people are so interested in attaching to any object (nailed down 
or not).



Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Trei, Peter
 http://slashdot.org/articles/03/03/12/0156247.shtml?tid=158
 
 An anonymous reader writes Clothing manufacturer Benetton has announced
 that
 they will begin embedding RFID tags in clothing[1] for inventory control
 purposes. You
 can read more about this at SF Gate[2]. morcheeba adds more information:
 EETimes is
 reporting[3] that Benetton will be embedding a Philips RFID chip into the
 label of every new garment
 bearing the name of Benetton's core clothing brand, Sisley[4]. The 15
 million chips expected sold in 2003
 will allow monitoring of garments from production to shipping, shelves and
 dressing rooms. The
 I.CODE chip[5] (tech info)[6] used in Benetton's labels will include 1,024
 bits of EEPROM and operate at a
 distance of up to 1.5 meters. RFIDs look like they would be extremely
 uncomfortable in some Sisley
 clothes[7]. 
 
 [1]http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2003/03/11
 /financial1508EST0170.DTL
 [2]http://www.sfgate.com/
 [3]http://www.eetimes.com/sys/news/OEG20030311S0028
 [4]http://www.sisley.com/
 [5]http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/markets/identification/products/i
 code/ic/index.html
 [6]http://www.semiconductors.philips.com/acrobat/other/identification/icod
 e_ht_ls.pdf
 [7]http://www.benetton.com/press/sito/photo/product_adver/sisley/2003_wet/
 sisley07.html



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Thomas Shaddack
Seems the trend is here. We can thank Benetton for providing us with
a playground for live tests of the capabilities and limits of the system.

We have several ways for countermeasures.

Passive countermeasures are shielding or tag destruction. We can locate
the transceiver, then enclose it in a Faraday cage. Or we can locate the
tag and physically remove or destroy it. Or we can irradiate the entire
object with powerful-enough electromagnetic radiation.

Active countermeasures can involve jammers, creating a RF privacy
sphere. One of the possibilities is a virtual tag that will respond to
read attempt with randomly generated signal strong enough to drown all
other tags in it. Or, to generate forged signatures, making the reader
think it is receiving a genuine signal, over which we have control;
allowing us to change our wireless appearance on-fly, even copying the
tag signatures of other people as they pass around, temporarily borrowing
them. The sky is the limit of possibilities here.

Part of the indirect passive countermeasures toy chest is a device that
will alert its owner when the RF read beam is detected, and allow
pinpointing its source.

The changes we are about to expect are moving the battle to another stage.
Let's get familiar with the new weapons about to hit the battlefield, and
devise the appropriate strategies.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Mike Rosing
On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Thomas Shaddack wrote:

 Seems the trend is here. We can thank Benetton for providing us with
 a playground for live tests of the capabilities and limits of the system.

 We have several ways for countermeasures.

 Passive countermeasures are shielding or tag destruction. We can locate
 the transceiver, then enclose it in a Faraday cage. Or we can locate the
 tag and physically remove or destroy it. Or we can irradiate the entire
 object with powerful-enough electromagnetic radiation.

I think you're over reacting.  RFID tags only have a range of centimeters.
You'd need a huge current to power them from more than 1 meter, and that's
just not going to be out on a beach in a hidden way.

Since the coupling is magnetic a Faraday cage won't work.  But a thin
piece of mu metal would work pretty well.

 The changes we are about to expect are moving the battle to another stage.
 Let's get familiar with the new weapons about to hit the battlefield, and
 devise the appropriate strategies.

It's just for inventory control!  They probably mount it on a tag you can
rip off when you go to wear the clothing.

The stuff you need to worry about is already out there as radio
transmitters being planted by cops in your keyboard.  The battle is
already engaged, how's our defense look against real threats?

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Thomas Shaddack

Don't know about those tags, but my laptop used to set off the library
 electronic detector.

Some laptops carry a RFID tag, as asset control or
how'sthatdamnedthingcalled. Newer Toshibas(?) have their configuration
EEPROM chip (what is used today instead of CMOS RAM) as eg. AT24RF08
(check eg. http://www.elecdesign.com/1998/june0898/bb/0608bb4.shtml or
google atmel.com for the datasheet). Pondering to get one such chip to
play with, if I'll get time.

Carrying things in metal briefcases has the pleasant side effect of
shielding those little narcs.

The life is so short and there are so many toys! :)

PS: Doesn't anyone here know how are called those connectors that are used
to connect digital displays to computer cards? Those that have arrays of
holes in three rows in rectangular array, like eg. on recent Matrox
videocards? I need one and my favorite stores don't carry them and I can't
find it in any online catalogs without knowing its name.



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Mike Rosing
On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Thomas Shaddack wrote:

 I heard these ones have range up to 1.5 meters. And you need much less
 power if you use a directional antenna (which can be part of some fixed
 installation).

Easy to find the antenna then :-)

 Wasn't aware about RF tags being magnetically coupled. Anyone other to
 support/deny this?

The 900MHz jobs are definitly EM.  At 130kHz it's mostly magnetic.

 Hadn't knew about mu metal. Thanks. :) Could be a nice thing for EM
 shielding, especially of things like transformers.

Helps keep monitors safe, but soon it won't matter because they'll all be
TFT instead of tubes.

 If it will proliferate, alternate uses spring up as natural byproduct.
 Until then, the countermeasures are cool toys.

Definitly cool toys :-)

 Regarding TEMPEST shielding - there is another, complementary approach for
 shielding: jamming. There are vendors selling devices that drown the RF
 emissions of computer equipment in noise, so TEMPEST receivers get
 nothing. Are there any publicly available specs of such generators, or
 even building plans?

Ensuring there is (or isn't) a transmitter is your best bet.  After all,
if you know there's a bug, you can send false info and know it's getting
picked up :-)

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Tim May
On Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 12:07 PM, Thomas Shaddack wrote:

On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Mike Rosing wrote:
I think you're over reacting.  RFID tags only have a range of 
centimeters.
You'd need a huge current to power them from more than 1 meter, and 
that's
just not going to be out on a beach in a hidden way.
I heard these ones have range up to 1.5 meters. And you need much less
power if you use a directional antenna (which can be part of some fixed
installation).
Since the coupling is magnetic a Faraday cage won't work.  But a thin
piece of mu metal would work pretty well.
Wasn't aware about RF tags being magnetically coupled. Anyone other to
support/deny this?
It's bullshit. 13 MHz is undeniably RF. Yes, magnetic fields are part 
of the electromagnetic field.

Hadn't knew about mu metal. Thanks. :) Could be a nice thing for EM
shielding, especially of things like transformers.
Don't go jumping into the abyss without some knowledge.

(ObCredentials: I worked inside a double-walled Faraday cage in 1972-73 
doing Josephson junction experiments with superconducting 
quantum-interferometric devices, aka SQUIDs. I did a lot of shaping and 
bending of mu metal. I also later worked near Faraday cages and had 
occasion to do more experiments in them.)
Besides, EU plans to embed RF tags into paper money.
Various lengths of metallic conductors are already inside various 
banknotes. This is NOT the same technology as RFID. I don't disagree 
about it being a concern, and an area for study and experiment, but be 
careful not to leap to conclusions about banknotes being a location 
finder.

Regarding TEMPEST shielding - there is another, complementary approach 
for
shielding: jamming. There are vendors selling devices that drown the RF
emissions of computer equipment in noise, so TEMPEST receivers get
nothing. Are there any publicly available specs of such generators, or
even building plans?
Jamming is grossly less efficient than detection. If you want an 
explanation, let me know and I'll spend 10 minutes writing a small 
piece on it. But first, think deeply about why this is so. Think 
especially about recovering signals from noise.



--Tim May
The State is the great fiction by which everyone seeks to live at the 
expense of everyone else. --Frederic Bastiat



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread alan
On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Tim May wrote:

  Regarding TEMPEST shielding - there is another, complementary approach 
  for
  shielding: jamming. There are vendors selling devices that drown the RF
  emissions of computer equipment in noise, so TEMPEST receivers get
  nothing. Are there any publicly available specs of such generators, or
  even building plans?
 
 Jamming is grossly less efficient than detection. If you want an 
 explanation, let me know and I'll spend 10 minutes writing a small 
 piece on it. But first, think deeply about why this is so. Think 
 especially about recovering signals from noise.

It sounds like there is an opertunity here for the right person.  Open up 
a place to clean your clothes of all those little RFID tags and other 
buglets people are so interested in attaching to any object (nailed down 
or not).



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Mike Rosing
On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Declan McCullagh wrote:

 This is incorrect. I interviewed one RFID tag maker who said up to 15
 feet in free space. Presumably a beefier transmitter or a more
 sensitive receiver would allow longer ranges.

I stand corrected, the one by Matrics looks very nice indeed:
http://www.matricsrfid.com/pdf/Tech_Overview_Data_Sheet.pdf

runs at 900+ MHz which gives it a good few meters range.

However, it still gets it's power from an outside source, so you
can easily tell when one is getting sampled.  Fortunatly the
higher the frequency, the easier it is to shield.  I still think
it's an over reaction to inventory control, but I guess it'd be a ton
of fun to build a reader and play with these things as people walk down
the street, just to see what you can see :-)

Patience, persistence, truth,
Dr. mike



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Tim May
On Wednesday, March 12, 2003, at 11:22 AM, Harmon Seaver wrote:

On Wed, Mar 12, 2003 at 01:53:55PM -0500, Tyler Durden wrote:
Nice post.

I guess it's just a matter of time before someone is charged with 
disabling
the RF signature of one of these tags. I'd guess that here in the US, 
the
rule will be if you bought it you can disable it, but prior to that 
you're
not allowed to jam it.

Humm...one wonders if there's already some common electronics that 
emit in
the same range as the scan, or if when defective (wink wink nudge 
nudge)
will jam such a signal.

   Don't know about those tags, but my laptop used to set off the 
library
electronic detector.

I've had _many_ things set off anti-theft detectors--not sure if it's 
my Titanium Powerbook, my cellphone, my Visor in my wallet, CDs in my 
bag, or just random noise.

I no longer stop and obediently re-enter the store and wait until they 
can send a manager over to inspect my items. I just keep walking.

A couple of times I've had clerks run out the door as I was about 20 
paces away saying Sir, sir! You'll have to come back inside!

I just ignore them.

They are entitled to set their alarms to trigger on CDs in my laptop 
case, books from other stores, etc.

But they are not contractually entitled in any way to cause me to 
reverse my direction and return inside their store for a meaningless 
examination of my briefcase (or purse, were I a chick). They can of 
course invite the police to make an arrest.

That would be interesting.  Several people might earn the coveted death 
warrant.

--Tim May



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Thomas Shaddack
On Wed, 12 Mar 2003, Mike Rosing wrote:
 I think you're over reacting.  RFID tags only have a range of centimeters.
 You'd need a huge current to power them from more than 1 meter, and that's
 just not going to be out on a beach in a hidden way.

I heard these ones have range up to 1.5 meters. And you need much less
power if you use a directional antenna (which can be part of some fixed
installation).

 Since the coupling is magnetic a Faraday cage won't work.  But a thin
 piece of mu metal would work pretty well.

Wasn't aware about RF tags being magnetically coupled. Anyone other to
support/deny this?

Hadn't knew about mu metal. Thanks. :) Could be a nice thing for EM
shielding, especially of things like transformers.

 It's just for inventory control!  They probably mount it on a tag you can
 rip off when you go to wear the clothing.

If it will proliferate, alternate uses spring up as natural byproduct.
Until then, the countermeasures are cool toys.

Besides, EU plans to embed RF tags into paper money.

 The stuff you need to worry about is already out there as radio
 transmitters being planted by cops in your keyboard.  The battle is
 already engaged, how's our defense look against real threats?

Standard area-denial measures, physical security systems,
hardware/software audits, RF shielding?

Regarding TEMPEST shielding - there is another, complementary approach for
shielding: jamming. There are vendors selling devices that drown the RF
emissions of computer equipment in noise, so TEMPEST receivers get
nothing. Are there any publicly available specs of such generators, or
even building plans?



Re: Brinwear at Benetton.

2003-03-12 Thread Tyler Durden
Nice post.

I guess it's just a matter of time before someone is charged with disabling 
the RF signature of one of these tags. I'd guess that here in the US, the 
rule will be if you bought it you can disable it, but prior to that you're 
not allowed to jam it.

Humm...one wonders if there's already some common electronics that emit in 
the same range as the scan, or if when defective (wink wink nudge nudge) 
will jam such a signal.

-TD




From: Thomas Shaddack [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: cypherpunks [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Re: Brinwear at Benetton.
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2003 18:16:25 +0100 (CET)
Seems the trend is here. We can thank Benetton for providing us with
a playground for live tests of the capabilities and limits of the system.
We have several ways for countermeasures.

Passive countermeasures are shielding or tag destruction. We can locate
the transceiver, then enclose it in a Faraday cage. Or we can locate the
tag and physically remove or destroy it. Or we can irradiate the entire
object with powerful-enough electromagnetic radiation.
Active countermeasures can involve jammers, creating a RF privacy
sphere. One of the possibilities is a virtual tag that will respond to
read attempt with randomly generated signal strong enough to drown all
other tags in it. Or, to generate forged signatures, making the reader
think it is receiving a genuine signal, over which we have control;
allowing us to change our wireless appearance on-fly, even copying the
tag signatures of other people as they pass around, temporarily borrowing
them. The sky is the limit of possibilities here.
Part of the indirect passive countermeasures toy chest is a device that
will alert its owner when the RF read beam is detected, and allow
pinpointing its source.
The changes we are about to expect are moving the battle to another stage.
Let's get familiar with the new weapons about to hit the battlefield, and
devise the appropriate strategies.


_
The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE*  
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail