Australia's Geekiest Man

An anonymous reader writes "Why have a key to open your front door when you can have an RFID tag implanted in your arm that will do the trick? Computerworld has a story up about the outgoing Linux Australia group president's hacked home, in which just about anything from watering the lawn, to opening his blinds, or checking the mail can be controlled through a software environment. Jonathan Oxer is an electronics and coding whiz who apparently has an RIFD tag implanted in his arm that opens his front door, and his front gate is hooked up with gigabit Ethernet — able to tell him when someone enters the property or send him a virtual email or sms to say he has real mail. Apparently the iPod Touch has just inspired him to begin linking all his little hardware hacks together into the one single, software controlled handheld touch device. I wonder if Steve Jobs ever thought the Touch would end up being used this way?"

link error

[TheSpengo]

Pretty cool. I wouldn't worry about people hacking it too much though since it isn't exactly a common thing just yet. :) I should point out though, that the link goes to the 2nd page of the article rather than the first. :o

Cancerous Police state much?

[7-Vodka]

Just as an FYI for anyone considering this, implanted RFID have been known to cause a high incidence of cancer around the implantation area. There's research showing it in animal models, I found out after my pet had to have his RFID tracker replaced (they use this in pets to let vet offices identify your pet if it gets lost).

Apparently the body doesn't like certain subcutaneous implanted foreign objects and cancerous growths build around it.

The other issue I would like to point out is that putting RFID chips into people and treating them as cattle has for some time been a dream of the uber wealthy elite classes. This tracks back to the eugenics movement to present day. See Aaron Russo's documentary "America: Freedom to Fascism". [youtube.com]

As such, I would not be in a hurry to usher in the era of slave I mean people tracking.

Research much? Scare easily?

[andersh]

implanted RFID have been known to cause a high incidence of cancer around the implantation area

Known? Implanting "subcutaneous foreign objects" might cause cancer, see the quote below. And the research done on mice indicates it typically happens in one percent or two.

"It's important to emphasize that those studies are not necessarily sufficient to view these implants as known hazards. The data suggest that the devices foster cancer by causing inflammation of the tissues that encapsulate them. There is a large amount of scientific literature linking cancer and inflammation (the National Cancer Institute has some information on the matter). RFID tags turn out not to be the only form of animal tagging that causes cancer through inflammation; standard metallic ear tags can do so as well. That paper also notes that there have been a number of case reports where human prosthetic implants have induced cancers in the surrounding tissues.", taken from Ars Technica [arstechnica.com]

Fearmongering?

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm a doctor, and I haven't heard anything about what you claim. Think about it, we put pacemakers and defibrillaters in people all the time, and there is no appreciable increase in cancer around these implantation sites.

As far as the body is concerned, it would see a little pellet lined with a coating. Many pacemaker housings are titanium, so if this is metal-lined, I do not see any possible way this could cause cancer being the low level radio emitter it is. I'd be happy to review any reputable journal articles if you can link, but a quick medline search does not reveal support to your claim.

Re:RFID?

[Anonymous Coward]

I've used the RFID kit [jaycar.com.au] he's installed on his front door before.

There is absolutely no encrypted handshake between the RFID tag and the reader. Hence an attacker could VERY easily conduct a replay attack using an easily duplicated tag. Given that the tag he uses is implanted into his arm, anyone that walks past him on the street could steal his front door key.

But I guess this isn't much of an issue for fellow geeks, because what sort of geek walks outside their basement and gets within the vicinity of other people in the first place?

Re:Cancerous Police state much?

[jellie]

Maybe you're referring to this article [slashdot.org], which was discussed here several months ago.

Inert objects implanted into the body cause fibrous encapsulation, when the body's immune system covers the implant with fibrous and connective tissues. I'm sure you probably noticed that the implant in your pet was covered in tissue after they removed it. The problem is that scientists haven't determined whether it's the RF scanners, the RFID itself, or the presence of an inert implant that's causing the cancer (or at least I'm not aware of any evidence of it). Having said that, I would never implant myself with a foreign object.

Re:Then again

[Mathinker]

It's here already.

Malaysia car thieves steal finger [bbc.co.uk]

Re:I can see one drawback

[pvanheus]

From TFA: "He has a young family that live in a seemingly normal home in suburban Melbourne." Sucks to make assumptions, doesn't it?

Full Interview

[BeeBeard]

Is there a reason why the summary doesn't link to the full interview [computerworld.com.au]?

Re:Favor me with a short answer

[moonbender]

Passive RFID chips can do some computation themselves, and many can do crypto, but it's extremely limited. For instance, the ubiquitous Mifare chips used for opening doors and even payment systems use proprietary crypto - and it's very broken [hackaday.com], anybody with very simple tools can listen in and copy the code.

Re:Oh - good, only 1-2 of every 100 people get can

[funny money]

You say only 1 or 2 mice out of 100 got cancer like it's a small amount.

1 or 2 out of 100 === 3 to 6 million of 300 million. Maybe you need a chip in your brain to assist with your Math.

Re:Then again

[gravesb]

The Amici briefs in the DC v. Heller case at the US Supreme Court have a ton of detailed, peer reviewed research on how guns impact crime. Its pretty interesting, and goes a long way to show that gun ownership drastically reduces crime. See, for example, this one. [gurapossessky.com]

Captain Cyborg

[gilesjuk]

Kevin Warwick (aka Captain Cyborg) did this years ago. Having a chip implanted for the purpose of opening doors etc.