RFID Injection Required for Datacenter Access

user24 writes "Security focus reports that RFID injections are now required for access to the datacenter of a Cincinnati company. From the article 'In the past, employees accessed the room with an RFID tag which hung from their keychains, however under the new regulations an implantable, glass encapsulated RFID tag from VeriChip must be injected into the bicep to gain access ... although the company does not require the microchips be implanted to maintain employment.'"

Yeah that was ironical.

[mfh]

Rumour has it that a certain data center will be sued shortly for creating a hostile work environment. There's a few ways to slice this one:

• employees will strongly dislike geeks from Slashdot following them around with RFID readers
• employees will strongly dislike nosy reporters trying to get stupid interviews about what it felt like to have an RFID tag implanted (ie: "So what did it feel like when the cold steel of that needle intersected your unwilling arm, ma'am?"
• employees will detest their weekly security update shots, along with subsequent track marks

And then there is the whole magic marker circumvention method that is soon to be discovered (possibly within this thread).

Oh wait...

FTA: Ironically, the extra security sought may be offset by a recent discovery of Jonathan Westhues, where the security researcher showed the VeriChip can be skimmed and cloned, duplicating an implant's authentication.

Yeah... I can't wait for the Diebold spin on this story.

I think I'll prestate the sentiments of Slashdot.

[captnitro]

Aw, hell no.

Well, it's Slashdot

[1310nm]

It might actually double the victim's bicep circumference.

Escalation

[Spazmania]

So much for Evil Guy yanking out an eye or cutting off a hand so that he can fake access. Now he has to take the whole arm...

Seriously, if he wants in that bad I'd rather he just beat me up and take my keys.

Re:this is interesting...

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm approaching two dozen RFID chips in my biceps, and let me tell you -- the chicks dig it!

Heh.

[soupdevil]

The joke's on them. Geeks don't HAVE biceps.

Re:I think I'll prestate the sentiments of Slashdo

[minus_273]

" must be injected into the bicep"

I think most slashdotters will have a problem there.

Re:From TFA

[slashname3]

showed the VeriChip can be skimmed and cloned, duplicating an implant's authentication.

To say nothing of employee's arms being taken and used to gain access. Just need to have a large plastic bags to put the body part in to keep it from leaking all over the hacker. Gives a whole new meaning to the term hacker.

I wonder if these are the same implants they use on dogs. If they are it's no wonder they are insecure. And I don't see how this improves security much if any. It would be better to have a two man rule enforced by the access system, using two factor authentication, and have cameras monitoring the access into the cages. Securing a data center is not that difficult. It can be costly.

One last thought, what does the company do if those implanted leave or are fired? Pay out the insurance premium for dismemberment when they remove the arm of the employee? I guess you know you are being fired when the security guard shows up at your desk with a box for your stuff and a hacksaw to revoke your access.

Re:What about the transhumanists?

[Anonymous Coward]

Kevin Warwick is a cunt. If I put a TV in the oven, am I a Transovenist?

Re: does not require the microchips be implanted

[slashname3]

They won't require you to implant the chip to keep your job. But how long can you keep your job if you can't access the datacenter?

Depends on how good you are at hacking the datacenters firewall so you can get in to do your work.

Typo

[BiggerIsBetter]

That was supposed to read, FTA: Ironically, the extra security sought may be offset by a recent discovery of Captain Obvious, where the security researcher showed the VeriChip can be skimmed and cloned, duplicating an implant's authentication.

Seriously, which genius thought putting a remotely readable barcode in an employees arm was ever going to be secure? Must the IT world really repeat the mistakes of the 80's garage door opener industry??

Re:I especially like...

[broller]

So are you entering passwords or making phone calls with your mouse? I wasn't clear on that point.

Re:Didn't you just post this?

[SEWilco]

Did you check the article IDs? Each article admitted to /. is required to have an attached ID.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:From TFA

[YGingras]

And anyone who requires access to the datacenter to do their job, such as operators and sysadmins, cannot DO their job unless they get the implant. And if they cannot do the job, how are they expected to maintain employment?

They have no problem to do their job without physical access, they installed telnet on all the servers.

Re:uh, no.

[timeOday]

Because according to the story, it's not required to maintain employment.

Of course it isn't... although we do appreciate good team players. And none of our other employees seem to mind. And frankly we're a little insulted by the implicit accusation that we'd ever abuse this power. It's not like you have something to hide... do you? Well, anyways, it's not a requirement, so here's the key to your new office. Go ahead and move the brooms and mops over to one side.

It's the End of the World

[dawhippersnapper]

As we know it!

I feel fine.

Re:Maybe they're right

[symbolset]

It's a Visa card?

Honestly ....

[taniwha]

evil guys just have to get more inventive

Many years ago I found myself in a turf war with the 'operators' who looked after our mainframe .... in their view system programmers weren't allowed to touch the hardware ... anyway as a response we instituted a physical penetration analysis of the machine room .... the number of different ways in we found was in the mid teens - some involved children (or small adults) climbing thru ducts or thru the windows we gave people their printouts through, others involved finding ways in under the false floor (there were several) - but the one that took the cake was when we noticed that all the hinges on each and every door to the room was on the outside ... anyone could show up at any time and steal the doors

Be well!

[Kamineko]

Be well, Warden William Smithers!

- Yeah, you too!

Biceps?

[EmbeddedJanitor]

Obviously don't want geeks. No self respecting geek would have biceps!

Paranoid?

[runlvl0]

I have an inherent distrust of anything wireless, which is why I still have cables running from my mouse and keyboard, refuse to use Bluetooth, and use wireless only when I have to and even then almost exclusively in Linux (though with WPA/WPA2 and a nice, long, random shared key, it's not so bad). My current record in a lab for cracking 128-bit WEP is about 14 minutes, start to finish. Paranoid?

Paranoid? Not until you do all of your computing inside a Faraday cage. Until then, you're just a TEMPEST in a teapot.

Re:Why?

[Duhavid]

You forgot about the "guy that owns this company knows the guy at the RFID tracking system company"
angle entirely.

Re:Religious Objection

[bigberk]

Who needs a religious grounds? I object on the basis of you being fscking insane to wanna stick me with a computer chip. You nutcase... can I keep working here without being poked? No, alright fsck you i'm outta here

Re:Religious Objection

[Anonymous Coward]

I just calculated it.

Since w is 01110111 in binary and you add up the ones you get 6, www = 666

At least i'm safe on bittorrent

Re:Biceps?

[TheWingThing]

They are injecting into the right hand, you fool. Not the left hand.

Re:Yeah that was ironical.

[Linker3000]

• Employees were fed up of being charged for an extra 'phantom' tube of tomato puree every time they went grocery shopping
  

Re:In Soviet Russia

[KDR_11k]

On Endemol's TV, you watch Big Brother!

Re:Maybe not such a milestone

[Anonymous Coward]

I find your problem troubling. So that the /. community may be of assistance out please post pictures of your wife's breasts. Pictures of both are needed since one will the control. Posting them on USENET is cool too. =)

Re:What about the transhumanists?

[CptNerd]

And you think so 3-dimensional. I'll take a hypercube...

You gotta be careful with those. You think refolding a roadmap is tricky...

I refolded my hypercube in the wrong order and ended up in Poughkeepsie in 1878. That was embarrassing.