Companies Start Implanting Microchips Into Workers' Bodies (latimes.com) 178
A Swedish start-up called Epicenter is offering to implant its employees and start-up members with microchips that function as swipe cards, allowing them to open doors, operate equipment or buy food and drinks with a wave of the hand. While these microchips have been available for decades, the technology has never been implanted in humans on such a broad scale. "Epicenter and a handful of other companies are the first to make chip implants broadly available," reports Associated Press. From the report: [A]s with most new technologies, it raises security and privacy issues. Although the chips are biologically safe, the data they generate can show how often employees come to work or what they buy. Unlike company swipe cards or smartphones, which can generate the same data, people cannot easily separate themselves from the chips. Epicenter, which is home to more than 100 companies and roughly 2,000 workers, began implanting workers in January 2015. Now, about 150 workers have the chips. A company based in Belgium also offers its employees such implants, and there are isolated cases around the world in which tech enthusiasts have tried them out in recent years. The small implants use near-field communication technology, or NFC, the same as in contactless credit cards or mobile payments. When activated by a reader a few inches away, a small amount of data flows between the two devices via electromagnetic waves. The implants are "passive," meaning they contain information that other devices can read, but cannot read information themselves. Ben Libberton, a microbiologist at Stockholm's Karolinska Institute, says hackers could conceivably gain huge swaths of information from embedded microchips. The ethical dilemmas will become bigger the more sophisticated the microchips become. Epicenter workers stage monthly events where attendees can receive the implant.
Meta data? (Score:4, Funny)
Can they scan the real-time position of the chip? Because very morning they'll measure about 30 minutes of rapid wrist motion on the right arm and slow finger movements on the left...
Re:Meta data? (Score:5, Insightful)
Learning guitar, eh? Good for you. Builds character.
Re: (Score:3)
This is unnecessary and stupid (Score:5, Insightful)
A bracelet with the chip in it would be a much better alternative, with no need to implant anything, cause tissue scarring, risk infection, etc.
Seriously, it could be a silicone band. Or a ring. Or a little sticker you could apply to any piece of jewelry you want.
Re:This is unnecessary and stupid (Score:4, Informative)
I think the point is more of that it cannot be separated from the person. You have to steal a body part to impersonate them, vs just snagging the band/ring/etc.
Not that I condone it, just speaking to one of the reasons why something that cannot be easily separated from someone would have an advantage.
Re:This is unnecessary and stupid (Score:5, Insightful)
Let me point out that people used to get their cars stolen. Then anti-theft chipped keys came along and we got car jackings and home invasions.
So, if you work in a secure facility that someone really wants into... this ensures the bad guys always know where the keys are and how to get them, and you're not going to like it when they do.
It's just a bad idea. This company's doing it as a PR gimmick.
Re:This is unnecessary and stupid (Score:5, Informative)
So, if you work in a secure facility that someone really wants into... this ensures the bad guys always know where the keys are and how to get them, and you're not going to like it when they do.
Note to self: do not implant secure access microchip in dick.
Re: (Score:2)
Unless your partner has one in her vagina...
Re: (Score:2)
Note to self: do not implant secure access microchip in dick.
Not adequate. [youtube.com]
Re: (Score:2)
So, if you work in a secure facility that someone really wants into... this ensures the bad guys always know where the keys are and how to get them
This is already the case. Actual "secure" facilities require some sort of swipe card/badge/etc plus a PIN number. And the bad guys are why you are actually given two PIN numbers, one that opens the door and one that opens the door and summons security.
Re: (Score:2)
Actual secure facilities have guards at the entrances, even if it's just a poor receptionist with a panic button on the wrong side of the bulletproof glass.
And yes, I've seen that, though it was really only to keep activists/protestors out, not anyone who might come in with significant 'hardware'. I've never had the opportunity or inclination to check out military-grade security.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
The second one is usually a variation of the first one. Like +5 to one of the digits, or reverse the order.
Re: (Score:2)
Then anti-theft chipped keys came along and we got car jackings and home invasions.
Except that car jackings and home invasions have gone down [bjs.gov].
Re: (Score:1)
These thing get implanted like a millimeter below the surface. Someone skilled could remove it without you even noticing immediately.
Also, an easier method would just be to scan for the chip and making a software copy.
the great thing about a card is that it can be shielded when not in use.
Re: (Score:2)
The scanning trick only works if the system doesn't use a token to do authenticating. If you embed a serial number and then transmit a time stamp and let the token hash the two then you have to record the whole transaction and need the chip itself to forge. However once you have the chip then all bets are off anyways.
Usually you want to get in and out unnoticed.
Re:This is unnecessary and stupid (Score:5, Informative)
http://edition.cnn.com/2004/TECH/10/05/spark.bajabeach [cnn.com]
Re: (Score:2)
I think the point is more of that it cannot be separated from the person. You have to steal a body part to impersonate them, vs just snagging the band/ring/etc.
That doesn't follow. Instead of stealing the key, you can either (a) cut out the chip, or (b) force the person to come with you at gunpoint/knifepoint.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Clone RFID (Score:4, Informative)
RFID chips can be made as impossible to clone as smart cards.
No, gaining access to the smart card contact pads won't help you in any way, neither will MITMing it.
IOW you're full of shit.
Re: (Score:2)
RFID chips can be made as impossible to clone as smart cards. No, gaining access to the smart card contact pads won't help you in any way, neither will MITMing it.
IOW you're full of shit.
RFIDs are far simpler than Smart Cards, and a lot easier to clone. The RFID protocol just extracts a single integral value - what length of data, what is in the data, etc is completely up to whomever programmed the chip and determined by the chip used too. But in the end, it's not very secure, and often they're passively powered - meaning you just apply power and the RFID chip starts transmitting the number where actively might be able to do some other stuff too, but even then that's really just for when yo
Re: (Score:2)
The RFID protocol
I think you're talking about one particular application/protocol, while i'm talking about a class of devices.
There's nothing stopping you from using RFID in more elaborate ways. Once you have something that knows sort of a private key, but without the ability to reveal the actual key, you're on smartcard-level security. And that was my whole point when saying
RFID chips can be made as impossible to clone as smart cards.
Re: (Score:2)
The RFID protocol
I think you're talking about one particular application/protocol, while i'm talking about a class of devices.
There's nothing stopping you from using RFID in more elaborate ways. Once you have something that knows sort of a private key, but without the ability to reveal the actual key, you're on smartcard-level security. And that was my whole point when saying
RFID chips can be made as impossible to clone as smart cards.
If you're using the RFID as a seed into something else (e.g a seed to generate a decryption key)...then yes, you're correct - you can use it in more elaborate ways; however, Smart Cards are not RFID; they're more akin to NFC - a separate standard that allows a lot more to take place for communications. RFID is a dead simple tech and extremely limited too; move beyond that and you're no longer doing RFID.
Re: (Score:2)
RFID chips can be made as impossible to clone as smart cards. No, gaining access to the smart card contact pads won't help you in any way, neither will MITMing it.
IOW you're full of shit.
RFIDs are far simpler than Smart Cards, and a lot easier to clone.
Yes, and no.
There are multiple standards here. There is one set of standards which define devices that work like you say, and that set of standards is properly called RFID. However, there's also the contactless smart card protocols, which are often called NFC. Chips which implement those standards can come in virtually any form factor -- including implantable chips. That wasn't always the case, but antenna technology has advanced. The summary says these chips do NFC, which means that they technically are
Re: This is unnecessary and stupid (Score:2)
Or it could be a badge that shows your picture, name, and any other information your employer thinks is prudent to show. If an unfamiliar face shows up in a secure area, other employees don't need a special reader and database access to check the stranger's badge.
Re: This is unnecessary and stupid (Score:5, Interesting)
Badges can be faked, so I've always been a fan of the badge being a link to call up a digital version that can be used with live facial recognition (be it human or computer-based).
There's a big difference between a little 'cut and paste' on a physical ID (though that can be a pretty impressive criminal art) and inserting a complete record into a (hopefully fairly secure) database.
Re: This is unnecessary and stupid (Score:2)
Sure, you want a secure database as your primary authorization back-end -- but badges deter electronic cloning attacks, casual tailgating, and generally raise the cost of an undetected intrusion.
Re: (Score:3)
Re: (Score:2)
There are lots of things you can't put through an MRI (and some people are allergic to the imagining fluid) so it's not as though people are put through MRIs without being made sure it's safe to do so.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:1)
Re: (Score:1)
Re:This is unnecessary and stupid (Score:5, Informative)
This just oozes stupid. To boot, we already had a company (VeriChip) already try this over a decade ago, to at best a ho-hum audience. Here is why this sucks:
1: The chip can't really be updated. If there is a security break, the insecure chip is there forever.
2: Someone can be looking for the company employees to target them.
3: With how employees are hired/fired, having an armful of chips will suck over time.
4: I read about bad reactions to these in animals.
5: This is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. Nobody glues a mechanical key to their body for a reason.
If a company wants to ensure individuals can get in without an ID card, go with biometrics and a PIN, the biometrics being a "username", the PIN being the password. If a company wants higher security than a badge, have a badge + PIN, badge + biometrics, or all three. That will work for 99.99% of all security needs.
Re: (Score:1)
Simple solution to #4: Stop reading.
This solution was brought to you by channelling my inner Pat Robertson.
Re: (Score:2)
With how employees are hired/fired, having an armful of chips will suck over time.
I think it more likely that this will become the equivalent of badges in games. People will brag about having a chip from Google, Snapchat or [insert trendy tech company here.] Next there will be dating sites where prospects will be filtered by previous employment.
Re: (Score:2)
Yeah but - without that tracking chip McKoy imbedded under their skin, Kirk and Spock might still be trapped in that jail cell. So there are distinct advantages to the tech which you're obviously and willfully ignoring.
Been available for dogs & cats for years (Score:5, Informative)
This technology has been available for dogs & cats for years. Most dogs and outdoor cats are "microchipped" so the local ACO (animal control officer) or shelter can identify the owner. I've even seen it used with fish and other marine animals at the aquarium.
Not a new technology, and well proven.
Whether it's a good idea is another question.
Re: (Score:2)
First chipping then neutering, huh?
The feminist dream of the ideal male.
Re: (Score:2)
Or a chip embedded into an ID card which could be hung around someone's neck or attached to their belt.
Wait a minute...
Re: (Score:2)
If you've ever tried to go through a secure door with your hands full, you'd understand why a token you don't need to handle is nice.
Especially if the reader is a little above waist level, where your arms would naturally be if carrying something.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
"Epicenter workers stage monthly events where attendees can receive the implant."
Especially on April 1.
Just saying.
Not a big deal (Score:2)
Re:Not a big deal (Score:5, Insightful)
I think you need to reassess the term 'voluntary', as there are many ways that corporate management can 'entice' you to 'volunteer' against your will. It's a slippery slope here, and as a previous poster mentioned not only invades privacy beyond what is required to achieve the desired function (unlock a door, purchase lunch), but also imposes health risks that many may not wish to undertake merely for the sake of employment.
Re: (Score:1)
Voluntary is when my choice between yes or no carries with it negative and positive outcomes on BOTH sides. If the employees choose not to have the implants there is a negative outcome (your employer may consider that you are not a "team player") along with the positive outcome (no chip).
I think you might be confusing Voluntary with Trial. Trial is when something happens and the people who do not volunteer for the testing are not affected in any way.
It's a common mistake.
Very big deal (Score:2)
As long as the implants are completely voluntary and offer to remove them when no longer wanted, I don't see a problem here.
Then you aren't thinking hard enough about the problem. There are all sorts of serious problems.
There is voluntary and then there is "voluntary" where your choice is to do it or lose your job. Once the infrastructure gets set up in such a way that it is
inconvenient/impossible to function effectively without them then they no longer are voluntary in any meaningful sense of the word.
If it is voluntary then there is little advantage in such a system, especially if few people opt-in. The cost alone will mak
Re: (Score:2)
Interested Bible readers might have other objections to the implant in their foreheads or right hands, especially if it turns out you can't buy or sell without one. (I've just described the Mark of the Beast from Revelations.)
Re:Not a big deal (Score:5, Insightful)
That's a dangerous way of thinking. The problem is that making microchip implants ordinary opens the door for these type of things to be abused. First it's just voluntary for those who want to work for a particular company, then it's just ordinary for those who work for particular industries, then it's just your driver's license. At first all it does is open doors, and then later iterations will monitor your location and health and who you interact with.
Sure, it's a slippery slope argument but slippery slope arguments aren't necessarily fallacious. This has already happened with cell phones. They started as a niche device and now it's difficult to function in society without one. And they collect all your information and make privacy obsolete. It doesn't take a ridiculous amount of foresight to see the dangers of certain technologies. George Orwell predicted the danger of televisions with cameras/microphones connected to the internet in 1949 yet we still allow these things in our home without demanding legislative protections to our privacy.
I see a problem here.
Re: (Score:2)
>This has already happened with cell phones. They started as a niche device and now it's difficult to function in society without one.
I like your point and your analogy, but actually, it's not that hard to function in society without a cell phone. I've been doing it for years. The only downside is a slight delay in getting the information you need or communicating with someone. I find the trade-off totally worth it.
Re: (Score:1)
Not having all information readily available at any given time is not a required function for daily living.
I feel sorry for anyone who sees their cell phone in such a way.
Michel Jackson Faraday gloves (Score:4, Interesting)
military soldiers had this done (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
The pain of termination (Score:1)
How about no (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
yet they're suppose to have a foreign object inserted into them that remains for the rest of their life
It's just under the skin. It can easily be removed. Even by the person itself, unless they implanted it between the shoulder blades, or the person is American.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
The way you use the word "easily" is unsettling.
Nah. Same procedure as if you get a splinter or bb/shot pellet under your skin, I would think: A short slice with a sterile knife, flick it out, and close up with a drop of superglue and/or a butterfly closure.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
It may be medically easy, but getting/leaving a job should not involve any medical procedures.
Agreed. Including sampling of a person's bodily fluids, taking fingerprints, retina scans or anything else that isn't public knowledge.
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
People work for a couple of years in a company and move on
This is in Sweden. Job hopping is far less common there than in the US.
A new use for anti-shark suits (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Late April fool (Score:2)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
Easy (Score:2)
If you are afraid, just wear a metal butcher's glove on that hand.
If you decorate it with a bit of leather and diamonds, people might think they saw Michael Jackson at the gas station.
Over my cold dead body (Score:1)
And they are opening themselves to litigation if employees feel coerced into getting such an invasive and demeaning tracking method.
Re: (Score:2)
Nothing personal, but the only way any company/government busybodies are putting a meat tag on me is over my lifeless corpse.
I personally plan to donate my own corpse to the local University Medical School when I die. They always need dead bodies for the anatomy courses. In order to liven up a dull lab session for the students, I want to implant a bunch of micro SD chips in myself, before I die. I want to fill up the chips with some Japanese Hentai. I hope the students find it to be a hoot and a half. Kinda sorta like finding "Easter Eggs" in programs.
"Hey, Professor! Look what I found in the spleen . . . is there suppose
Black Mirror (Score:4)
Sometimes I think that corporations watch Black Mirror for ideas.
I love mine! (Score:2)
I had a RFID chip implanted in my hand 3 years ago, just for self-interest. ( I have no desire to enslave the human population in end-times )
It was inserted by a friend who's a registered nurse, with some Lanacane. (highly recommend the Lanacane!)
I chose my non-dominant hand in case something went horribly wrong, but there haven't been any complications.
It is very convenient and I use it daily. My house door locks, garage door opener, car door locks and safe are all accessible by a swipe of my hand, as we
Re: (Score:2)
I haven't been able to convince my girlfriend to get one implanted yet -- but I just love the convenience of always having it with me.
I think you want to wait for a more permanent relationship status than just "girlfriend" before considering something like this. Roughly half of marriages end in divorce; how many girlfriends / boyfriends do people go through before finding "the one"? If your girlfriend gets the implant, you can easily clone it and retain a copy even after you break up, leading to possible security issues for her in the future.
Can I get a big "HELL, NO!" from y'all? (Score:2)
Some forethought is in order (Score:2)
* It would be good for governments to work out a legal framework for acceptable use of these kinds of chips. For example, can a company force its employees to have a chip like this implanted? How much pressure, and what kind of pressure, can a company put on its employees (or possibly customers) to accept a chip
I'd claim religious exemption (Score:3)
Okay, I'm not really religious, but for this I'd convert! Enemy of the enemy.
Creepy, human cattle (Score:4, Insightful)
Revelation 13:16 (Score:1)
16 And the second beast required all people small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their forehead, 17 so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark—the name of the beast or the number of its name.
too many chips (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
When the gig economy fires up? It seems to be here. Now. I never bothered to disable the emails I was receiving from a variety of job aggregation sites when I was last in a job search because I figured that, as imperfect a barometer as job ads are, it was good to read through them occasionally to keep on top of how things are going out there. What I've been seeing is that more and more of the job listings are for straight contracts. CTH is showing up less and less than a few years ago and companies looking
Just wait until you leave the company... (Score:1)
It will make the layoff or firing that more pleasant when they want it back.
Just give me a lifetime contract (Score:1)
Switching jobs? (Score:2)
Never (Score:1)
Fuck that Swedish startup! This should be outlawed right quick.
NDA (Score:1)
Expert opinion (Score:2)
Let the magic smoke out... (Score:2)
I guess it all depends on your definition of 'biologically safe.' I bet it wouldn't be very safe if the chip were to get an overloaded electromagnetic pulse at its operating frequency. Gives DOS attack a new meaning.
On a positive note, it might get hot enough to cauterize the area around it thus preventing infection.
Id Badge (Score:2)
The corporate overlords are smiling.
Uh, oh.... (Score:1)
Boss: Could you hand me those pliers, please?
You: Sure. Here you go.
Boss: Thanks. There has been some cutbacks in our department, so I'm going to have to let you go. Now hold still please (if you want to get your severance check).
Mark Of The Beast (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
I'm more than happy to allow the righteous anger of Evangelicals to work for our privacy.
One more question you'll want to ask... (Score:2)
... when applying for a job. "Do you inject foreign objects into your employees?"
I've been hanging out on the Internet long enough to remember the Usenet thread "The Great Usenet Piss Test"--on misc.jobs.misc, IIRC--which listed companies that had drug testing policies ranging from the "yeah this makes some sense" to the absolutely ridiculous. Now we can, I guess, expect to see a host of web sites popping up listing companies that want to implant transponders in their workers. (Retirement can't come soon e
Companies start implanting Microchip into workers (Score:2)
Oh yeah? Fuck you, companies. I'm an Atmel man.
Obligatory (Score:2)
http://futurama.wikia.com/wiki... [wikia.com]
It will go something like this (Score:2)
Demoliton Man (Score:2)
Alright, so he can't buy food or a place to stay for the night and it would be a waste of time to mug somebody, unless he rips someones hand off, so lets hope he doesn't figure that one out.