VeriChip Technology for Human Tagging
Proposed Uses for Implanted Radio Frequency Identification Chips
Apr 7, 2009
The VeriChip is marketed by the VeriChip Corporation, a subsidiary of Applied Digital Solutions, and is currently the only such RFID approved by the FDA for human tagging.
What is a VeriChip?
The VeriChip consists of a microchip and a small antenna embedded in medical grade glass and then wrapped in a polypropylene material called Biobond to stop the implant migrating inside the body. The capsule is 12 mm in length – about double the size of a grain of rice – and can be inserted under the skin using a 12-gauge needle. The current VeriChip holds no data in the chip itself save for a 16-digit identification number that then needs to be cross-referenced with a database.
VeriChip as Passive RFID
The VeriChip is classed as a passive Radio-Frequency IDentification (RFID) chip. This means that it has no independent power supply but rather uses the energy from the incoming signal to transmit its ID. This limits the useful range of a VeriChip to about 12 inches. A scanning device set to the correct frequency must therefore be close to the person carrying the implant. A more sensitive antenna could increase this range to a few feet, but not much further. In contrast, an active RFID fitted with a battery could transmit continuously, rather like a mobile phone, but for a limited period as the power source eventually runs out.
Proposed Uses of Human Tagging
The VeriChip is being sold as a security device in companies with restricted access areas. Indeed, VeriChip Corp has tagged many of its own employees as a sign of confidence in the product. It is also being suggested as a payment device, with the 16-digit ID acting like a personal debit card. In general, as RFIDs are being increasingly used by both governments and corporations the time is not that far off when a personal tag will be seen as the best way of securing and personalising all these other tags.
VeriChip for Healthcare
For people with chronic illnesses or who have difficulty communicating, a VeriChip implant would give hospitals all the information they need in case of an emergency. People with mental health problems but who are deemed suitable for integration within the community could be tagged and monitored in case they run into difficulties. In the USA millions of babies and their mothers are already tagged and matched to avoid mismatching as well as babies being stolen. This system currently uses external RFIDs rather than internal human tags.
VeriChips as Passports
In a bid to make forgeries more difficult some countries have introduced RFID chips inside the passport. Malaysia was the first country to do so way back in 1998. The USA and the UK introduced RFIDs into new passports issued since 2007. However, experiments have demonstrated that such chips are just not as secure as the authorities would like the public to believe, with the result that new passports also have to include shielding within their covers to avoid data transmission when they are not being used. This poses a serious problem for the idea that an implanted VeriChip will some day replace a passport.
VeriChip for Matching Purposes
From the matching of mothers and babies the idea that multiple chips can be matched with each other has been born, and if VeriChips are in themselves insecure they can still be used as a key to unlock personal products and services. It has even been suggested that police officers have a VeriChip implanted that is matched to an RFID in their weapon so that the gun becomes jammed if anybody else tries to use it. However, the dangers of an electronics or database failure causing whole systems to malfunction has to be considered.
Concerns About the VeriChip
The introduction of controversial new technologies always takes place for seemingly practical or even beneficial reasons. But the VeriChip has aroused a great deal of opposition for both technical reasons and fears over the loss of personal freedoms. The next article looks at the problems with VeriChips.
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