December 07, 2006
Nike + iPod Sport Kit RFID Flaw
You've no doubt seen them: those fitness buffs jogging in the neighborhood or park with their Nike shoes and the tell-tale white iPod earwires, listening to music while getting healthier. They might just be the owner of the RFID-enabled Nike / iPod Sport Kit, which lets runners monitor their efforts.
But researchers from the University of Washington think that a security flaw in the Sport Kit (which uses an active RFID tag) lets stalkers also monitor runners. They claim that someone with a scanner can track a jogger's regimen from a distance of up to 60 feet, even from a car. They could go as far as skimming RFID data and recording jogging times and even plotting routes on Google Maps for later use. [Info Shop via RFID News]
While this potential threat shouldn't be taken lightly, one thought comes to my mind. The average human being isn't going to go to such lengths. Anyone who does go to all that effort to stalk someone doesn't need to utilize the Sport Kit flaw to do so. Their sickness would prompt them into doing it by other methods. In this scenario, I think, it's the person and not the technology that's to blame. On the other hand, this flaw can be exploited by more than just stalkers, possibly encouraging borderline personalities into surveillance activities that they might not otherwise bother with.
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