University RFID Student IDs

Slippery Rock University will leverage RFID across its student body and faculty for access control and payments. ...

... "Radio-frequency identification (RFID) cards will replace the university's current ID cards used by all students, faculty and staff beginning in the fall ... " ...

Via Slippery Rock University: RFID School IDs

RFID Tech Enables Lafinca Reebok Sports Club Customer Experience

The Reebok Sports Club La Finca leverages an efficient access control system, installed by LEGIC Identsystems' impolementation partner, Gantner Technologies. LEGIC's RFID contactless technology is installed at the Calle Serrano Reebok Club in Madrid. The LEGIC partnership is realizing benefits, through efficiency that resulted EUR70,000 in annual savings. Members benefit from simple access control, increased security, and the ability to obtain various services. The Club has implemented the contactless credentials for 6000 members using these form factors: fabric and plastic bracelet, a watch, and a card. Access turnstiles at the club support two readers (one for entry and one for exit). The company is able to better understand the customer experience at the club. ...

... "But the services provided by the LEGIC all-in-one-card go well beyond mere access control. Members can use their contactless smartcard to reserve the locker they want, and they can purchase minutes in the sun cabin by using their LEGIC smart card. Lastly, the Club is about to install a new LEGIC based application on the all-in-one-card so that members do not need to worry about having small change and notes on them if they want to purchase food and drink in the Club's cafeteria, because they will be able to pay for it using their card or bracelet with integrated LEGIC chip. " ...

Via LEGIC Identsystems AG: Reebok Sports Club La Finca opts for LEGIC technology at its sports facilities

Russia RFID Transportation Application: Moscow Metro

UPM Raflatac will supply RFID inlays for contactless passenger tickets on the Moscow Metro. The RFID inlays will be supplied in cooperation with Moscow-based Comvision Russland for ticket converting at JSC Mikron. ...

... "The Moscow Metro is one of the world's most heavily used metro systems, carrying 8.2 million passengers on a normal weekday. The RFID inlays provided by UPM Raflatac will replace the cards with magnetic stripe Moscow Metro is currently using for tickets with a fixed number of journeys. For seasonal tickets, the Moscow Metro is already using contactless RFID smart cards which enable significantly faster entry for passengers. The Moscow Metro was the first metro system in Europe to implement smart cards together with a new type of magnetic card in 1998. In the first stage, the monthly usage of UPM Raflatac HF inlays based on the Mifare Ultralight standard will be 5 million pieces. After a transitional period at the end of summer 2007, usage will rise to approximately 30 million inlays per month. " ...

Via UPM Raflatac: UPM Raflatac supplies RFID inlays for Moscow Metro contactless tickets ...

OTI RFID Supports Discover Network Contactless Payment

OTI receives certification for its RFID reader in support of the contactless payment solution for the Discover Network. ...

... "Discover Network, a business unit of Discover Financial Services and Morgan Stanley, announced that it has certified the Saturn 5000 contactless reader developed by On Track Innovations (OTI) (NASDAQ: OTIV), a global leader in contactless microprocessor-based smart card solutions, for use with Discover Network's contactless payment application. The certification process ensures that the Saturn 5000's reader technology is able to support Discover Network's proprietary contactless payment solution. Additional OTI readers are in the certification process.

Compatible with major POS terminal providers and acquirers, Saturn 5000's enhanced features allow the reader to support multiple application programs and read a variety of payments sources, including credit cards and key fobs and cell phones. The console's plug-and-play design and small footprint facilitates quick upgrades of existing POS terminals to accept contactless payments. And because the reader faces the customer, the Saturn 5000 enables easier and faster payment transactions. Additionally, OTI's patented matched antenna technology provides more effective power consumption, reliable and stable communications, and additional levels of security and encryption throughout the communication link. " ...

Via Discover Network: Discover Network Certifies Oti Card Reader For Contactless Payment System, OTI's Saturn 5000 to Support Discover Network's Fast, Secure, and Simple Contactless Payment System Worldwide

RFID Passport: Vicinity Read Technology Not Recommended

Smart Card Alliance responds to the State Department's October 17th Federal Register notice, recommending that the U.S. government reconsider using vicinity read RFID technology for its passport card implementation program. The Alliance sees advantages in leveraging contactless smartcard technology for the ePassport. ...

... "In its response to the State Department's notice, the Alliance provides details of its concerns with the passport card decision to use vicinity read RFID technology, and gives recommendations for measures that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of State could implement to improve the passport card program.

The Alliance states many advantages to using contactless smart card technology for the passport card program, including the ability to support electronic verification of authenticity to prevent counterfeiting and to use secure, encrypted communications to thwart eavesdropping and replay attacks, and ensure privacy protection for cardholders. A passport card based on contactless smart card technology can also leverage the infrastructure that is being put in place by DHS and the Department of State to support the new ePassport. " ...

Via Smart Card Alliance: Smart Card Alliance Urges U.S. Government to Reconsider Proposed Passport Card With Long Range RFID Technology

The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology.

RFID ePassport: Security Lacking Per Alliance ...

Smart Card Alliance comes out against the RFID-enabled ePassport, citing security concerns. ...

... "Using the long read range radio frequency identification (RFID) technology the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and State Department are proposing for passport cards will do little to increase the security of the nation's borders, and opens up possibilities that U.S. citizens could be tracked, the Smart Card Alliance said today. The Alliance contends that a more privacy sensitive and secure passport card solution using the same contactless smart card technology found in the new electronic passports (ePassports) can improve border security without causing delays at crossings ... " ...

Via Smart Card Alliance: Proposed Passport Card with RFID Technology Bad News for Privacy and Security, Says Smart Card Alliance ...

RFID SmartCards AccessControl ...

ASSA ABLOY Identification Technologies supplies the Cartes conference with RFID-enabled smart card for access control. ...

... "ASSA ABLOY Identification Technologies (ITG) will provide 30,000 contactless smart cards to be used by exhibitors, visitors, VIP guests and the organizers themselves. The cards are manufactured by VisionCard, a leading European card manufacturer based in Austria and part of ITG. Among the special features of the card is the printed antenna, which represents a complementary technology to ITG's other core transponder technologies, wire-embedding, wire-transfer and coil winding. VisionCard's long track record and their expertise in high volume printing allow the company to produce high quality printed antennas very cost efficiently and to connect them to any 13.56 MHz IC module available in the market. The cards for the CARTES exhibition are based on Philips mifare 1k chips. Set up of the access control system at the exhibition has been entrusted to French system integrator Tech-Event. For this application, Tech-Event has chosen RFID reader modules manufactured by ACG Identification Technologies, another ASSA ABLOY ITG company. The reader modules provided by ACG, compatible with multiple ISO standards including ISO 14443A/B and ISO 15693, will be used to read all the entry badges issued for the exhibition. " ...

Via ASSA ABLOY Identification Technologies: CARTES exhibition goes contactless with RFID technology from ASSA ABLOY ITG ...

RFID Security: NSF Funds Smart Tag Research ...

National Science Foundation, NSF, provides funding to increase the privacy and security of RFID smart tags, through better cryptographics.

... "Strengthened security for smart tags - the wireless devices that allow drivers to zip through automatic tollbooths or pass a security desk with the flash of a card - is the aim of a new initiative that has received $1.1 million from the National Science Foundation. Led by Kevin Fu of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the researchers are developing much-needed cryptographic protocols, hardware and applications for the increasingly common devices. Millions of consumers already use smart tags—wireless devices that use radio waves to identify and authenticate people and things - and they will become more numerous, says Fu.



Smart tags - which include Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tags—are already used to track items from library books to merchandise to cattle. Increasingly, they are replacing the magnetic stripe cards used in security badges and mass transit cards, sometimes also serving as electronic cash. The tags will soon be incorporated into documents such as passports; their use is being explored for tracking medical records and prison inmates. But the tags, which also include contactless smart cards and low-resource sensors, are a technology that has crept in from the edge of the Internet and they present new challenges in terms of security and privacy issues, says Fu.

The unique environment presented by smart tags - they can operate without human intervention and without a physically connected power source - presents unique security concerns, says Fu. Smart tags automatically respond to the device that reads them, so human users don't have the traditional means of giving or denying consent to the reader. This infrastructure of untrusted readers and tags requires an approach that preserves privacy while maintaining the flexibility and convenience that the tags offer.

The new consortium, dubbed the RFID ConsortiUm for Security and Privacy (RFID-CUSP), takes these operating conditions into account and is designing new cryptographic definitions, algorithms and models that will lay the solid foundation on which secure applications can be built. As part of their project, the researchers are working with the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART). The project will result in the first completely open, publicly available software for experimenting with RFID security and privacy. " ...

UMass Amherst: UMass Amherst-Led Research Will Protect Consumers by Ramping Up Security for Smart Tags

Kevin Fu: "Open cryptanalysis of existing RFID protocols will give assurance in the soundness of reliable RFID technology. At UMass, we are investigating how to build secure RFID-based systems. "

The Sensor Revolution: Industry & Commerce: "Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) stands among the fastest-proliferating sensor technologies. RFID systems combine electromagnetic sensing with radio communications. RFID tags and interrogators can be used to track inventory in a warehouse or collect tolls from moving cars. "

Understanding Contactless Smart Card Technologies and Some of the Leading Reader/Card Product Providers (PDF): "That transmission could then be replayed to a reader to gain access illicitly at some time in the future. In contrast, today’s secure contactless cards and readers (such as XceedID ISO-X and HID iCLASS) employ a myriad of cryptographic techniques. These techniques encrypt data in ways that render it useless to an illicit user. Thus, traditional proximity cards and readers provide inferior communication security when compared to secure contactless smart cards and readers. "

RFID Proximity Device: Healthcare Application ...

... "RF IDeas, Inc., creators of single-badge solutions for physical and logical access control and security, has shipped its 30,000th RFID proximity device for use in the healthcare industry. The milestone is confirmation of RF IDeas' leadership position in the emerging field of single sign-on authentication and access systems, as well as the growing adoption of this technology in healthcare organizations, where protection of patient information as mandated by HIPAA is crucial. RF IDeas will be demonstrating its cutting-edge solutions at booth #1851 of HIMSS, February 12-16, 2006. " ...

RFID Proximity Device: Healthcare Application: Via RF Ideas: RF IDeas Ships Its 30,000th Proximity Reader for Smart Card Access in the Healthcare Field

RFID-Enabled Smart Card ...

QI Sys is developing RFID smart cards for contactless payment applications ...

... "QI Systems Inc., a leading developer and integrator of smart card payment, access control and tracking solutions, announced that QI product engineers are now developing hardware and software components that support RFID-enabled contactless payment systems. RFID-enabled payment systems are rapidly gaining in popularity with merchants and consumers in the U.S. Small-value transactions can now be quickly completed using a payment card with a built-in microchip and wire-loop antenna utilizing very-short-range (several inches) radio waves to securely transmit account information from the card to the merchant point-of-sale terminal. There is no need for the merchant to swipe the card through a reader, so the cardholder always remains in control of the card and transaction time is optimized. MasterCard, Visa and American Express are actively promoting contactless-payment versions of their cards. The International Standards Organization has established an implementation specification enabling these credit-card leaders to share a common transmission protocol. That in turn facilitates the programming of a single merchant point-of-sale terminal to accept and process transactions from all three companies’ payment cards/devices. Merchants and cardholders alike should benefit significantly from the enhanced convenience and security offered by a broader selection of contactless payment solutions. " ...

RFID-Enabled Smart Card: Via QI Systems Inc.: QI Systems Inc. Developing Products for RFID-Enabled Smart Card ...

RFID e-Passport Security Breach ...

... "A Dutch television program Nieuwslicht recently worked with local security firm Riscure to successfully crack and decrypt a Dutch-prototype RFID passport. " ...

Via Engadget: Dutch RFID e-passport cracked -- US next? ...

Via Riscure: Privacy issues with new digital passport: "The new digital passport lacks in the protection of personal details of the passport holder. An attacker intercepting the contactless communication between the passport and the border control system can get access to the personal information held on the chip inside the new passport. ... Riscure is a Security Lab based in the Netherlands. Riscure evaluates the security of smart cards, mobile phones and related systems for banks, credit card companies, GSM operators, smart card manufacturers, organisations deploying digital IDs and companies in the pay television industry. "

RFID Growth: Smartcards EPassports ...

Research shows that RFID growth will come from smart card applications ...

... "The study - RFID Forecasts, Players and Opportunities 2006-2016 - reveals that although the lion's share of RFID shipments, in terms of volume produced, will be for high volume items such as post, drugs, pallets, cases, tyres and consumer goods, a disproportionate percentage of revenue will be achieved through RFID deployments in the ePassport and smart card markets. " ...

RFID Growth: Smartcards EPassports: Via Security Document World - Biometrics, Passports, ID Cards and Visas: ePassports and smart cards to boost RFID revenue ...

Fingerprint RFID Security Sensor ...

Company is developing a fingerprint-secured RFID device for potential use in smart payment transactions and contactless applications. ...

... "Five-year-old Digital Defense Group says its credit-card-size token, which contains a fingerprint sensor and an RFID chip, is compliant with MasterCard International's PayPass contactless-payment program and can potentially be used for Internet transactions as well as payments in stores." ...

Fingerprint RFID Security Sensor: Via Digital Transactions: Digital Defense Group Set to Launch a Fingerprint-Secured RFID Card ...

RFID Emergency Card: Enables Electronic Health Record ...

MedicAlert will show its RFID-enabled smart-card for enabling emergency medical care through the use of identification and electronic health records. ...

... "MedicAlert will be showcasing technology products - the MedicAlert® E-HealthKEY, the Health Enhancement System (HES), and the RFID Emergency Card in response to the federal government’s goal to give all Americans electronic medical records in the coming years. Within a few years, one-third of all Americans will be elderly – about 77 million people – the single biggest demographic group in the country. Globally, the U.S. will have the largest population of elderly people in the history of the world. " ...

RFID Emergency Card: Enables Electronic Health Record: Via MedicAlert: MedicAlert® to showcase technology at the White House Conference on Aging ...

MedicAlert® is committed to providing technology-based solutions and is an active member and a leader in developing interoperability standards with all the major Healthcare IT standards organizations. The MedicAlert® repository uses Web service interfaces to support standard Electronic Health Records (EHRs), including electronic drug prescriptions and for patient record interoperability. These activities will ensure the rapid development and deployment of standards to improve the quality of care, lower healthcare costs while increasing patient safety. MedicAlert® is a nonprofit membership organization founded in 1956 with a mission to protect and save lives, is headquartered in the United States and has international affiliates in nine countries.

Additional resources on uses of RFID to support emergency health care or electronic health care identification:

Health Care CIO Runs Internal RFID Test - Computerworld: "Halamka said this month that when the chip is scanned by an RFID reader, an identifying number directs physicians to his medical records, which are stored electronically at CareGroup's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. "

VeriChip launches secure database to consult health care data stored on implantable RFID chips: "VeriChip is a miniaturised, implantable, radio frequency identification device (RFID) which can be used in a variety of security, emergency, and health care applications. About the size of a grain of rice, each VeriChip is composed of FDA-accepted materials and contains a unique verification number which can seamlessly integrate to the GVS Registry."

RFID can be a matter of life and death in the medical world | WTN: "Radio frequency identification technology is often touted as a way to improve supply chain management. But in the health care world, the technology is bringing other, perhaps more important benefits: safety and security."

RFID Technology ISO9001:2000 Certification ...

HID achieves ISO9001 certification for the design, manufacture, and distribution of RFID technology. ...

RFID Technology ISO9001:2000 Certification: Via HID: HID Achieves ISO9001:2000 Re-Certification for Design, Manufacture, and Distribution of RFID-Based Contactless Smart Cards and Readers: The Management System Certification Encompasses Excellence Meeting Customer and Regulatory Requirements While Continually Improving HID's Product Performance ...

... "HID Corporation, the premier manufacturer of contactless access control cards and readers for the security industry, announced that is has achieved ISO 9001:2000 re-certification for quality management and its system certification that encompasses manufacturing. HID first received ISO9000 certification on June 1, 1999, ISO 9001:2000 certification on June 1, 2002 and has been continuously certified while they maintain focus on continuous process improvements for the company's entire iCLASS 13.56 MHz, Prox 125 kHz, and Wiegand card and reader technology design, manufacture and distribution processes. To attain ISO9001 certification, all certified companies must be in conformance to the ISO9001:2000 standard that requires companies to do what is needed to fulfill the customer's quality requirements, enhance customer satisfaction, manage the processes or activities and to achieve continual improvement of their performance in pursuit of these objectives. " ...

As the largest manufacturer of contactless access control readers and cards for the security industry, HID has shipped over 250 million credentials to customers worldwide. HID pioneered the development of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology for physical access control. Proximity and iCLASS® technologies can be housed on the same credential and combined with other technologies such as magnetic stripe, barcode, or contact smart chip modules. This provides users the ability to leverage their investment in existing systems while seamlessly upgrading to new technologies and adding new applications. For increased security, users can add a photo ID or anti-counterfeiting element such as a hologram or ultraviolet ink. HID’s experience in developing card technologies enables them to play a critical role in the evolution and adoption of contactless smart card technology used for applications such as access control, IT secure authentication, digital cash, the storage of biometric templates, and the storage and retrieval of critical information.

Healthcare RFID: Zebra ProductLine Agreement ...

Zebra inks product-line agreement to serve the healthcare supply chain with RFID printing and other identification technology. Zebra's partner, MedAssets, leverages technology into the healthcare supply chain through best-of-breed solutions. ...

Healthcare RFID: Zebra ProductLine Agreement: Via Zebra Technologies: ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES AND MEDASSETS ANNOUNCE NEW 3-YEAR AGREEMENT: Zebra to provide MedAssets customers with full line of bar code, card and RFID printers, supplies and services ...

... "Zebra Technologies (Nasdaq: ZBRA), a global leader in delivering on-demand specialty printing solutions for business and process improvement, has signed a new three-year full product line agreement with MedAssets Supply Chain Systems, a leading healthcare group purchasing organization (GPO) and supply chain services company. The full line agreement makes Zebra’s bar code, card and RFID printers as well as its supplies and service agreements available to MedAssets' customers for a wide range of identification, tracking and access control applications. " ...

Zebra Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: ZBRA) delivers innovative and reliable on-demand printing solutions for business improvement and security applications in 100 countries around the world. More than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Zebra-brand printers. A broad range of applications benefit from Zebra-brand thermal bar code, “smart” label, receipt and card printers, resulting in enhanced security, increased productivity, improved quality, lower costs and better customer service. The company has sold more than four million printers, including RFID printer/encoders and wireless mobile solutions, and also offers software, connectivity solutions and printing supplies.

MedAssets, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, improves healthcare providers’ margins and cash flow through revenue cycle and supply chain initiatives. As a strategic business partner, MedAssets can replace multiple vendors and decrease supply costs by 3% to 10% and increase net patient revenue by 1% to 3%. Proprietary information technology is used to work with and improve existing IT assets and work processes. MedAssets, through its revenue cycle subsidiary MedAssets Net Revenue Systems, provides best-of-breed revenue solutions, including strategic pricing, pre-bill charge capturing and ongoing chargemaster management tools, all of which have been peer reviewed by the Healthcare Financial Management Association. In addition, MedAssets offers the only technology enabled systems that manage claim denials and link supply cost data with charge data to ensure accurate charges and defendable markups for all patient identifiable supplies, including costly medical devices. MedAssets, through its supply chain subsidiary MedAssets Supply Chain Systems, operates the fastest growing group purchasing organization and supply chain services company in the U.S. and builds customized solutions encompassing procurement of common medical supplies, pharmaceuticals, physician preference supplies, food and nutrition items, and capital equipment.

RFID China Partnership: Printing Solutions

Zebra partners to deliver RFID and printing solutions to the Chinese market. ...

RFID China Partnership: Printing Solutions: Via Zebra Tech: ZEBRA TECHNOLOGIES AND DIGITAL CHINA JOIN FORCES TO BRING BEST-OF-BREED PRINTING SOLUTIONS TO CHINESE ENTERPRISES: Largest and most recognized brand in the bar code and RFID industry partners with China's pioneer IT distributor to bring industry-leading solutions to Chinese customers ...

... "A signing ceremony, held earlier today in Beijing with Digital China, marks a milestone for Zebra's PartnersFirst channel development program in China. Launched in March 2003, Zebra's PartnersFirst program was designed to help deliver value-driven bar code, wireless and RFID-based solutions to a wide range of end customers in industries such as retail, manufacturing, healthcare, government, transportation, logistics and more. Globally, the program has been successful earning a five-star rating (out of five) from VARBusiness Magazine. A redesigned program for the China market was launched last year. Today's alliance with Digital China is significant to Zebra's development, and testament to its increasing growth and commitment to this dynamic market. Under the terms of the agreement, Digital China will become Zebra's value added distributor (VAD) in China's auto-ID field. The alliance will enable Digital China to expand its presence in this lucrative market. Currently, Digital China’s distribution network and wide-reach is unparalleled, with access to over 6000 agents throughout Greater China. " ...

Digital China Holdings Limited was spun off from Legend Holdings Limited and separately listed on the mainboard of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange Limited on 1 June 2001 (HK:0861) . Digital China is the number one IT products distributor and systems integrator as well as a leading networking product developer in China. The company provides hardware and software solutions to its clients, with a strong focus to add value to them. Digital China engages in three groups of businesses: Distribution, Systems, and Services.

Zebra Technologies Corp. (Nasdaq: ZBRA) delivers innovative and reliable on-demand printing solutions for business improvement and security applications in 100 countries around the world. More than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Zebra-brand printers. A broad range of applications benefit from Zebra-brand thermal bar code, smart label, receipt, and card printers, resulting in enhanced security, increased productivity, improved quality, lower costs, and better customer service. The company has sold nearly five million printers, including wireless/mobile solutions and RFID printer/encoders, and also offers software, connectivity solutions, and printing supplies.