News round-up A flippant personal view Mick Davies SCNF Core Group member

1. News round-upA flippant personal view Mick DaviesSCNF Core Group member

2. Chip and Ring British consumers can now use their mobile phone to check their bank balance or help their friends or family pay for calls. HSBC has started to roll out this service, which has been developed by the banking network Link and IT firm Morse. After downloading a simple piece of software to their phone, the bank's customers can check their balance or find out if they have been paid, wherever they are. The service, called Monilink, connects directly with Link's secure cash machine network, and also enables HSBC customers to top up any pre-paid mobile phone on any network instantly regardless of the network they use. I guess the others will not be far behind and mobile phones are so easy to use and have such nice big keys

3. The Reader comes free Barclays online banking customers will be issued (free!) with handheld card readers next year to improve the security of the on-line service. These will read their bank cards and generate one-time passwords to improve the security of their transactions. The customer inserts their Chip and PIN card into the hand held reader and it will generate a unique 12-digit number that the customer then enters on their keyboard. A 12 digit number …that sounds like something that everyone will be able to cope with very easily.

4. Remember the disadvantaged customer Who can handle very small keys and transcribe very long numbers accurately? Not me!

5. …and the Chips are free Some Tesco shoppers can scan their shopping themselves before paying for groceries using cards. The problem is that the system doesn’t require a signature or a PIN. Which? and BBC researchers checked it out and found that it was easy to buy goods using someone else's card at a number of Tesco stores because no checks were made to confirm the identity of self serve shoppers. Fraud levels connected with its self-service tills and petrol pumps were said to be low. However, Tesco has said it is introducing Chip and PIN validation technology to these tills by the end of the year. London Underground self-service tills and kiosks at railway stations once allowed customers to purchase tickets without signing or entering a PIN. They changed the system earlier this year. Tesco's pay-at-the-pump scheme isn’t very secure either but they have found the solution in my local store –the pay-at-the-pump option has been disabled for ages!

6. Chip and Bin Microchips are being placed in wheelie bins to measure recycling rates of thousands of people in Alnwick, Northumberland. About 4,000 households will take part in the five-month project to monitor how much rubbish is recycled. Special equipment fitted to refuse vehicles will read the chips in the bins and instantly record the amount of recycled waste. The move is aimed at boosting recycling rates in the North East, which are below the national average. I’ve been putting chips in the bin for years!

7. Bark and Ride A breakdown patrol man went to the rescue of a woman motorist and started her car using her dog. The woman had changed the battery in her electronic key fob and her dog had swallowed the immobiliser chip but was then unable to start her car. Once he realised what had happened the breakdown man put the dog in the front seat and started the car with the key. He said “They will now have to take George with them in the car until things take their natural course”. Notice that the dog was called George – the common name for an automatic pilot. This idea could really take off! A whole new slant on going through the motions!

8. And last but not least…. Just when you thought the silly season was over, along came …

9. …RFID implants in humans Researchers at the European Commission Institute for Prospective Technological Studies (IPTS) are looking at the technical and social implications of implanting RFID tags in people. RFID implants are passive tags, with a reading distance < 10 cm and they emit a number when reader is close. There is currently one commercial (FDA approved) device, but a number of experiments implanting commercial RFID tags are underway. They are looking at: Healthcare applications such as Hospital work-flow management & improving the accuracy of access to Medical records, Access Control to Physical Spaces (homes, office, cars, etc.) and Devices (computers, mobile phones, palmtops, PDA, etc.). but…

10. …looking at more socially significant uses They are starting a debate on implanting RFID tags in particular people, such as: Patients with orientation problems (e.g. Alzheimer or dementia) Particular illnesses (e.g. Epilepsy), People at risk (e.g. of kidnapping), “Dangerous” people (e.g. criminals, prisoners, paedophiles). Puts a whole new meaning to having a chip on your shoulder!

11. Seriously though… The Finance and Retail sectors are pushing ahead with many exciting and innovative services and uses of technology, but we need to make sure that all this good stuff does not increase the gap between the haves and the have-nots. The press love a “Human interest” or “Another Technology Disaster” story and we need to balance this somehow. There are very significant social implications of some of this and we need to make sure that the citizen voice is heard. Organisations such as the SCNF and the Smartmedia Centre have a role to play here. Thanks for listening.