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3M Mobile ID Reader Helps Big Brother Take Your Identity More Efficiently
Posted by Gizmodo US Edition at 12:00 AM on September 28, 2008
3M's new Mobile ID Reader scans MRZ and RF chip data from passports and visas and immediately checks them against local or international watch lists by using wifi or GSM/GPRS EDGE networks. It seems like a great tool to further make you feel like you're living in some scary dystopian sci-fi novel, especially when you hear that dastardly monopolist Bill Gates got his little-loved Windows Mobile 6 OS onto the device.
The Mobile ID Reader boasts an 8GB capacity, so when hackers crack the "encrypted formats feature," they'll have access to tons of personal and privileged data. Other features include a sunlight-safe touchscreen and a capacitive fingerprint sensor. The device is meant to be used by authorities at event checkpoints, like its first tryout at the Euro Cup 2008 soccer tournament, but it shouldn't be long before you see it at your local Trader Joe's, checking up on the hippies. [Wired]
Comments (AU Comments · US Comments)
There are currently no AU comments for this post.
djdare
Posted 12:34 AM 28/9/08
fuck this shit, I'm off the grid.
djdare
Kodai1
Posted 12:20 AM 28/9/08
does it still work after I hit the RFID chip with a hammer?
Kodai1
strider_mt2k
Posted 1:09 AM 28/9/08
I try to stay centered on the grid.
If not I tend to burn on one side and I don't get those awesome grill lines.
strider_mt2k
Git Em SteveDave loves this guy-->
Posted 1:06 AM 28/9/08
goddamn hippies. Need to play some death metal.
@Kodai1: Yes, b/c it has a keypad, which then lets them manually enter in the number. It just takes longer. I'm sure you could black out all the info on your passport with a marker, though.
Git Em SteveDave loves this guy-->
oh_nos
Posted 1:17 AM 28/9/08
Ppl go to soccer games?!
oh_nos
ViperBorg
Posted 2:04 AM 28/9/08
@djdare: I'm with you. Off the grid and moving to Canada.
Wait, I'm Native American. Off to my tribal grounds. Take that USA, don't have to conform to your crap there.
ViperBorg
Ypoknons
Posted 3:07 AM 28/9/08
@oh_nos: And if you were European, you'd go WTF is baseball.
Ypoknons
Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude
Posted 6:30 AM 28/9/08
Can that thing be any bigger??
All they left out was a breathalyzer and a port to insert blood or urine samples to be analyzed..
Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another dude
bencahyadi
Posted 2:40 PM 28/9/08
is it a new thing?
in my country, it's been on the road for about half a year now. Every newly distributed driving licenses have some kind of chips inside, so policemen on the road can check your ticket record. Yucks.
bencahyadi
Jonathan21
Posted 9:02 AM 29/9/08
@Jrsy is the dude, playing the dude, disguised as another du...: Those will be added to Mobile ID Reader version 2.0, along with a facial recognition camera, a taser and an anal probe.
Jonathan21