The Access Card Bill proposes to allow the computer on a card to act as a cash card for emergency relief as well as an ID card storing all your personal information.
By an amazing coincidence, the "Pay Pass" digital cash card is being trialled in Australia this month by Mastercard. Its RFID. Radio Frequency IDentification allows people with card readers to access your information or cash remotely, without you having to remove the card from your wallet.
Hackers have built devices that passively "listen" to the radio traffic between the card and a reader to get your personal information or steal your digital cash Its called "skimming".
The Australian Department of Immigration bought into RFID cards which is a shame because Security experts have already hacked your RFID Passport
Will the Australian Access Card with its biometric face recognition, its huge store of personal information and its digital cash use RFID?
This question was asked in Parliament in 2006 by the West Australian Senator Christopher Evans. Minister Joe Hockey refused to rule it out:
Question 8. Can DHS rule out the employment of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology within the Smartcard?
Answer 8. Whether or not the access card uses RFID technology is a matter for decision by
government.
Could KPMG who won the tender for the card indicate whether the models they sell come with RFID normally?
Then in 2003 they sold biometric RFID access cards for the US Department of Defense
In 2005 they explained the many benefits for RFID cards
I wonder if they'll just sell us the same model? Why won't Joe Hockey play ball and rule out RFID?
References:
http://www.the-gold-blog.com/?p=186
http://www.rfidproductnews.com/issues/2006.07/18.php
http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/52270.html
http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/fapa_ctte/estimates/bud_0607/human_services/hs35.pdf
http://www.rpi-polymath.com/ducttape/RFIDWallet.php
http://crec.mccombs.utexas.edu/works/articles/smartcardswp.html
http://www.rfidnews.org/news/2003/01/30/department-of-defense-selects-bearingpoint-for-third-phase-of-biometric-demonstrations/
http://www.kpmg.com.au/newsletters/LOBS/ice_com_ment-September2005.htm













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