Massachusetts Institute of Technology and HID collaborate to address RFID privacy concerns
20 February, 2006
category: Biometrics, Contactless
Smart card solutions provider HID has partnered with tech-savvy MIT in Cambridge to facilitate a “dialogue” on RFID security, ID, and privacy issues while promoting an online RFID research resource. A steering committee of MIT researchers and industry veterans will develop content for the new web site.
Goal is to Encourage and Facilitate Dialogue and Set a New Bar of Excellence for Privacy and Civil Liberties Protections Related to RFID
SAN JOSE, Calif.– The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and HID have announced a joint effort to provide a public forum to discuss RFID and public policy, and to explore innovative RFID uses for personal identification that enhance privacy and security. MIT and HID are also creating a comprehensive online resource for industry, government and the general public, where they can learn more about RFID and privacy-related topics.
“As government and private industry expand their use of RFID, privacy concerns have emerged that deserve a neutral forum for dialogue that includes stakeholders from government, private industry and the public,” said Dan Greenwood, an MIT lecturer and attorney. “We at MIT will provide that forum with support from HID, by inviting stakeholders to our campus and hosting a relevant Web site on our servers.”
A Steering Committee, composed of MIT researchers and faculty and an industry Advisory Board, will develop content for the Web site. Advisory Board membership includes: Richard Varn, Senior Fellow, Center for Digital Government and Center for Digital Education; Daniel Combs, President, Global Identity Solutions; Jeff Staples, Managing Partner, Avisian Inc.; and Bill Newill, Acting Executive Director, International Association for Identification Technologies.
“MIT’s Media Lab is researching and developing new RFID design opportunities that support and reflect well-balanced public policy,” Greenwood said. MIT and HID will also collaborate to explore creative new uses for RFID which improve a wide array of transactions that take place in people’s daily lives.
Steve Wagner, chief operating officer of Irvine-based HID Corporation, said his company welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with MIT. “We recognize the need to balance consumer privacy interests with the growing use of RFID across many sectors of the economy. Collaborating with MIT, a world-class educational institution, is a natural extension of our ongoing commitment to safeguarding individual privacy with the responsible use of RFID technology,” said Wagner.
In addition to working with MIT, HID, the premier global supplier of contactless access control cards and readers for the security industry, established an industry-first set of corporate privacy policy principles governing the use of RFID. These privacy principles can be found on HID’s Web site at www.hidcorp.com.
In December, the company also sponsored a major privacy policy forum in Sacramento that for the first time brought together state and federal policy makers, industry representatives, end users and government agencies to discuss RFID and privacy. The event was hailed among attendees as an important initial step in addressing major RFID policy questions.
About Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology-a coeducational, privately endowed research university-is dedicated to advancing knowledge and educating students in science, technology and other areas of scholarship that will best serve the nation and the world in the 21st century. The Institute has more than 900 faculty and nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and is organized into five schools-Architecture and Planning; Engineering; Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences; Management; and Science-and the Whitaker College of Health Sciences and Technology. The MIT ECommerce Architecture Program (eCAP) at ecitizen.mit.edu, jointly housed at the MIT Media Lab and the MIT Design Lab, acts as the point of contact at MIT for this collaboration. eCAP is an initiative to explore the intersection of legal, policy, business and technology information architectures.
About HID
HID is the premier global supplier of contactless access control cards and readers for the security industry. With over 250 million credentials (cards, fobs and keys) in use worldwide, HID leads the industry in 13.56 MHz and 125 kHz RFID card and reader technology for a wide range of applications including access control, IT secure authentication, time and attendance, digital cash/cashless vending, automotive vehicle identification, and biometric verification. HID’s award-winning product line includes iCLASSr 13.56 MHz contactless smart cards and readers, 125 kHz proximity, magnetic stripe, and Wiegand technology cards and readers as well as the recently introduced VertXT CS central station managed access controllers. The company also provides specialized card manufacturing services including custom preprinted graphics, micro printing and anti-counterfeiting elements, holograms or ultraviolet ink for increased card security. HID’s corporate offices are located in Irvine, California, with international offices supporting more than 100 countries. The company is an ASSA ABLOY Group company. To learn more, please visit www.hidcorp.com.
