Contact: John Harrington – 707.252.6166
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 28, 2005
Napa, California
Privacy Threatened by New Technology: Company's Risks Concern Shareholders
Harrington Investments, Inc. (HII), a Napa, California based asset manager, has filed a shareholder resolution at Applied Digital Solutions, calling for a report on the threat radio frequency identification (RFID) technology may pose to the public.
"There have already been several breaches of RFID security," said John Harrington, President and CEO of HII. "RFID readers are readily available on the Internet and can be used to obtain personal information from an unsuspecting public."
According to the company's 2004 Annual Report, Applied Digital is engaged in "developing and marketing RFID-enabled products for use in a variety of healthcare, security, financial and identification applications." Its products include VeriChip, the first microchip approved for implanting in humans.
Anyone with a reader can read the information on a chip without the knowledge of the chip holder. Regardless of whether the information is a person's name or a unique identifier number, this is an invasion of privacy. Chips can provide access to such personal information as an individual's location or medical and financial records. The distance at which a chip can be read has been shown to be greater than intended and is likely to increase in the future.
"Advances in technology may have unintended consequences," Harrington said. "RFID technology may advance medical, security and government interests, but at the same time it presents the opportunity for criminals to access personal and confidential data, which can lead to an increase in identity theft. Breaches in the security of the technology can also be used by hackers to compromise our national security."
Harrington concluded by saying, "It is in the interest of shareholders that management reports all that is being done to safeguard the integrity of our company's technology and to protect us from undue litigation, increased regulatory oversight and increased costs."
There is currently legislation pending in California regarding the use of RFID chips in government-issued identity documents such as drivers' licenses and library cards. SB 768 attempts to safeguard the public's privacy by instituting a three year ban on the use of radio waves to communicate information in government issued IDs and by requiring rigorous security and privacy protections for government-issued IDs that can be read by radio waves. The bill is being sponsored by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, and Electronic Frontier Foundation.
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