To adopt or not: Is this really a problem?

Filed in archive Privacy and Security on April 14, 2006

It's almost been a month since researchers at the Amsterdam's Free University created a radio frequency identity (RFID) chip infected with a virus to prove that RFID systems are vulnerable despite the extremely low memory capacity on the cheap chips.

Since the release of this news, there has been a lot of discussion going on about the root causes and effects on RFID adoption strategies. Anita has also covered some aspects of RFID vulnerability in her earlier articles. But the question still remains that: Should the companies take it as a really serious threat or not?

Well, I myself like the notion by Paul Faber of Industry Week which seems more robust:

The publicity surrounding this RFID virus research is no reason to delay any planned RFID implementations. The practical lesson to learn from the research is to ask the right questions of RFID integrators and software service providers. If you are currently planning an RFID technology project for your facility, simply include your current IT experts in the technology selection process. This will go a long way towards safeguarding you from any potential problems with RFID.