half the company’s valves have tags,
Nechiti says, and the company is working
to increase that to 100%.
Tags used by Newmans can be read
at varying distances, depending on the
reader used and its antenna; minimum
distance is about three feet, and maximum is up to about 40 feet with a hard-mounted reader and up to about 20 feet
with a handheld reader. Tags vary a bit
with valve size, with smaller and lower-priced valves getting somewhat simpler
tags, and bigger valves getting the more
elaborate ones.
The tags contain minimum information such as date of manufacture, place
of manufacture, serial, unit identifier,
last service date, while the real data is in
the database, Nechiti explains. That
database of information can be accessed
via the Internet (even from the field using
Windows Mobile and the appropriate
application) so that anyone who needs it,
and has the proper authorization, can
access it. The database isn’t yet iPhone
enabled, Nechiti adds, but that’s expected to happen in March of 2011.
THE SECURITY ISSUE
Some people worry about RFID tag security. There’s a video on You Tube (search for
“RFID virus”) that tells the story of British researcher Dr. Mark Gasson from the
School of Systems Engineering at Reading University in England, who has an
implanted RFID chip that allows him access to controlled areas and even unlocks his
mobile phone. Dr. Gasson infected his implant with a virus that then infected all the
systems that read the chip;“any other device using the system then becomes infected
by the virus as well,” he explains. The virus could then be implanted onto the swipe
cards of others using those cards to enter the building, he continued. “These types of
devices are going to have to start using secure, encrypted communications,” Dr. Gasson said.
There is also worry about the privacy of the RFID chips in United States passports. Initial reports say the effective read-range of the chip in a U.S. passport is
considerably greater than advertised and subjects the carrier to identity theft and
worse. Other RFID tags can be cloned fairly easily. What’s to keep a bad guy from
putting a cloned or otherwise false RFID tag on a counterfeit valve? And maybe gain
access to a company’s database?
That’s not likely, Koffel says: “They can clone a tag but it’s going to be very difficult
for them to not only clone the tag but then have some sort of corresponding data in the
database.” If the database is properly designed, he explains, “there’s going to be certain parts of that database that are write only; you’re never going to be able to change
those parts of the database. So [if somebody has] cloned a tag, they’re not going to
know the serial number behind it or some of the other sequences behind it that will
identify that tag as a valid product.” And doing it repeatedly would be both difficult
and expensive. So expensive, Nechiti says, that for lower-cost valves it wouldn’t pay.
