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A step in the right direction, but definitely needs work.

derekguenther 18th Sep 2008

What some people have pointed out is that by having this chip, you are limited to having one machine you can use (because it has "your" chip). Imagine going to a friend's house, and not being able to check your bank account or email with his/her computer because "your" chip is in your computer at home.

There is no portability across devices. Sure, you can walk down the street with your phone/laptop and use the WiFi at every Starbucks you come across without logging in. It's a tradeoff from annoyance (having to stop in one place to use the internet reliably for a length of time) to unusability (must have your own equipment handy, or you can't authenticate).

With the amount of identity theft today it's obvious that something needs to be done, but I'm not a fan of RFID technology for one main reason. It's like a credit card (when requested it spits out information) but it broadcasts it wirelessly in all directions. Credit cards aren't terribly secure, but at least someone has to have physical access to be able to spoof its information. When an RFID chip is requested for information, someone with a sniffer can see the request and the reply all in one shot, just by standing in the general vicinity. You're going to have a tough time convincing me this is the wave of the future in security.