In the future, work may get under your skin...literally.
Cincinnati video surveillance company CityWatcher.com now requires employees to use VeriChip human implantable microchips to enter a secure data center. The VeriChip is a glass encapsulated RFID tag that is injected into the flesh of the triceps area of the arm to uniquely number and identify individuals. The tag can be read through a person's clothing, silently and invisibly, by radio waves from a few inches away. The device is being marketed as a way to access secure areas, link to medical records, and serve as a payment instrument when associated with a credit card.
Here is a link to VeriChip's explanation for how the system works. And while the company apparently does not require its employees to take an implant to keep their jobs, they won't get in the data center without it. (And yes, that does seem like a contradiction to me as well.)To be honest, I am not sure what to think about this yet. How much personal freedom should we be willing to give up for "security" . . . or, as in this case, our employer's security? How about using the chip to monitor our location when at work? [Bill, the computer chip says you were outside smoking for 16 minutes this morning during your 15-minute coffee break.]Hat tip to RFiD blog for putting us on to the story.
