Homeland Security using RFID at the border



Cnet news is reporting that the department of Homeland Security is using RFID at U.S. borders. The RFID chips are implanted in the “Customs and Border Protection Form I-94A” document which is used to keep track of comings and goings of foreign visitors.



The “comings and goings” information is logged to a government database and there is no personally identifiable information, logging only a serial number. Only U.S. Government officials have the ability to go in and pin that serial number to a name. (So there IS personally identifiable information, it just takes an extra step and is not easily accessible by anyone.)

It’s an interesting application, the big advantage I see is being able to know if person X has left the country when they were supposed to. Of course the problem with it is making sure that every “foreign visitor” gets said form.

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