RFID, presence and privacy

NETWORK WORLD NEWSLETTER: JOANIE WEXLER ON WIRELESS IN THE
ENTERPRISE
06/08/05
Today's focus: RFID, presence and privacy

Dear networking.world@gmail.com,

In this issue:

* Where should location tracking start and stop?
* Links related to Wireless in the Enterprise
* Featured reader resource
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manage the performance of your worldwide wireless network 24x7.
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Today's focus: RFID, presence and privacy

By Joanie Wexler

I shuddered not once, but twice during a recent local newscast
that demonstrated how a mere fingerprint scan will soon replace
an ATM or credit card swipe for the purchase of goods and
services.

The first shiver was for the ease with which I'll soon be
blowing wads of cash with literally the touch of a finger. The
second, with a slight nod to Anna Ayala of the Wendy's
finger-in-the-chili fiasco and a big one to Tom Cruise's retinas
in the 2002 flick "Minority Report," came as I envisioned
opportunists eagerly hacking off the index fingers of people
with fat bank accounts.

It sounds preposterous, but we do keep inventing things with
scary downsides that need some consideration up front. Take the
potential privacy issues associated with presence applications.
Within a couple of years, they will be enhanced with radio
frequency identification (RFID) technology to fulfill part of
their location-tracking requirement.

Presence, as you likely know, is about a centralized unified
communications application working across wired and wireless
networks to keep track of who you are, where you are and what
you're doing. Its goal from a business perspective is to help
you manage dynamic communication; to automatically let in the
important communication that you need, even in exceptional
circumstances, yet send non-urgent communication to a mailbox if
you are already constructively engaged.

One part of the location piece of presence will be RFID tags in
mobile communications devices. In a healthcare setting, the
nearest doctor to a patient in crisis with the most appropriate
skill set can be quickly located and dispatched, improving
patient care and possibly saving lives.

Retailers with RFID readers throughout their stores might
identify customers carrying mobile phones with RFID tags and
match them to their purchasing and preferences files. This could
be helpful. Or it could be a travesty, depending on how the
retailer deploys and manages the technology.

Much in the way talking heads greeted Tom Cruise's "Minority
Report" character, John Anderton, by name to sell him his
favorite brands in the mall of 2054, we could suddenly find
ourselves barraged by video ads, e-mails, SMS messages and phone
calls, all pushing something in the store that applies to us.

Customized service is great to have; but we need it managed in a
way that is helpful rather than intrusive.

RELATED EDITORIAL LINKS

The privacy challenge
Network World, 05/30/05
http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir2425

IBM has some tall RFID plans
Network World, 05/02/05
http://www.networkworld.com/news/2005/050205-ibm-rfid.html?rl

Freedom through surveillance data
Network World, 05/02/05
http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir2426

Aruba corrals foreign WLAN clients
Network World, 06/06/05
http://www.networkworld.com/nlwir2427
_______________________________________________________________
To contact: Joanie Wexler

Joanie Wexler is an independent networking technology
writer/editor in California's Silicon Valley who has spent most
of her career analyzing trends and news in the computer
networking industry. She welcomes your comments on the articles
published in this newsletter, as well as your ideas for future
article topics. Reach her at <mailto:joanie@jwexler.com>.
_______________________________________________________________
This newsletter is sponsored by AirMagnet
LISTEN TO YOUR WIRELESS NETWORK

Trusted by 4 of the Fortune 5, AirMagnet EnterpriseTM can detect
and prevent network intrusions, disable rogue devices, and
manage the performance of your worldwide wireless network 24x7.
Visit http://www.fattail.com/redir/redirect.asp?CID=105333 to
schedule a meeting and we'll bring you a complimentary iPod
Shuffle!
_______________________________________________________________
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