Thousands of Swedes are getting microchip IDs inserted into their hands
Thousands of
Swedes are getting microchip IDs inserted into their hands to swipe into homes,
offices, concerts and even to access social media
·
More than
4,000 Swedish people have a tiny microchip embedded in their hand
·
An implant
lets them enter buildings, access concerts and share via social media
·
The
procedure costs about $180 (£140) and the chip is the size of a grain of rice
·
Several
companies in Sweden offer the service to their employees for free
·
More than 4,000 Swedes are being implanted with a
microchip that contains details about their identity.
The miniature technology bypasses the need for cash,
tickets, access cards and even social media.
BioHax International is the market leader in the innovate
industry and has captured public imagination since it was started five years
ago by Jowan Osterlund, a former professional body piercer.
Some people argue the conveniences gained from the
procedure by so-called 'body-hackers' do not outweigh the risks to their
private data.
In June 2017, SJ Rail, the Swedish train operator,
announced that around 100 people were using microchips to pay for their
journey.
Commuters with a microchip in their hand are able to have
their ticket loaded directly onto the device.
The train conductor can then read the chip with a
smartphone to confirm the passenger has paid for their journey.
This was one of the most widespread and mainstream uses
of the technology and has seen it be adopted by a plethora of forward-thinking
companies.
Microchipping has even been adopted by professional
social media platform LinkedI.
Szilvia Varszegi, 28, said the chip 'basically solves my
problems'.
Touching an event attendee's smartphone will allow the
information to be transferred without the need for typing.
Ms Varszegi said: 'When another phone reads the chip,
they see the [link] and they can open it in the phone browser.'
The futuristic project has not been without its hiccups,
and has also generated concerns over passenger privacy.
When it was launched lat year, one flaw in the system
meant that rail staff would sometimes be shown a passenger's LinkedIn profile
instead of their ticket information.
While the scheme is currently only available in Sweden,
the country's travel system uses the same Near Field Communication (NFC) as
contactless bank cards, and London's oyster cards, suggesting it could be used
further afield one day.
The electronic tags are around the size of a grain of
rice and are implanted via a syringe into the back of the hand - often above the
thumb.
Several companies in Sweden already offer the service to
their employees - often for free - to help them quickly enter the building or
pay for cafeteria food.
The implants were first used in 2015 - initially
confidentially - before they were later rolled out.
While concerns have been raised over potential personal
data violations, many Swedes are favouring convenience over their privacy.
Twenty-eight-year-old Ulrika Celsing had a microchip
injected into her hand that allows her to enter her workplace without needing
her security card.
She said she is not concerned over the potential hacking
of the data stored in the chip.
'I don't think our current technology is enough to get
chip hacked,' she told AFP.
'But I may think about this again in the future. I could
always take it out then.'
To enter her workplace, the media agency Mindshare,
Ms Celsing simply waves her hand on a small box and types in a code before
the doors open.
'It was fun to try something new and to see what one
could use it for to make life easier in the future,' she said.
Mircrochip implants are not new in Sweden, and thousands
already have them, using the devices to swipe in and out of the office, and
even pay for food.
Swedish citizens have long accepted the sharing of their
personal details.
The country has a track record for sharing of
personal information, which may have helped ease the microchip's
acceptance.
Personal details in the Scandinavian state
are registered by the social security system, with other administrative
bodies.
It is possible for people to find out each others'
salaries through a quick phone call to the tax authority.
Mr Libberton said: 'In Sweden, people are very
comfortable with technology and I would say there is less resistance to new
technology here than in most other places.'
Some experts have urged caution with the burgeoning
microchipping scene.
Ben Libberton, a microbiologist at the MAX IV
Laboratory in the Swedish city of Lund which provides X-rays for research, told
AFP: 'At the moment, the data collected and shared by implants is small, but
it's likely that this will increase.
'The more data is stored in a single place as could
happen with a chip, the more risk it could be used against us.
'If a chip can one day detect a medical problem, who
finds out and when?'
He added that the chip implants could cause 'infections
or reactions of the immune system'.
HOW DO
MICROCHIPS IMPLANTED UNDER HUMAN SKIN WORK?
Several Swedish firms are implanting their employees with
microchips under their skin which can be used to replace keys, credit cards and
train tickets.
The small implants use Near Field Communication (NFC)
technology, the same as in contactless credit cards or mobile payments.
When activated by a reader a few centimetres (inches)
away, a small amount of data flows between the two devices via electromagnetic
waves.
The implants are 'passive,' meaning they contain
information that other devices can read, but cannot read information
themselves.
Near Field Communication (NFC) as contactless bank cards,
and London's oyster cards, suggesting it could be used further afield one day.
WHY
DID A SWEDISH FIRM INJECT ITS EMPLOYEES WITH MICROCHIPS?
Swedish firm Epicenter hit the headlines in April for
offering RFID implants to its employees.
The Startup offers workers microchips the size of
grains of rice that function as swipe cards, to open doors, operate printers, or
buy smoothies with a wave of the hand.
The injections have become so popular that workers at
Epicenter hold parties for those willing to get implanted.
But, experts say the ethical dilemmas will become bigger
the more sophisticated the microchips become.
The technology in itself is not new. Such chips are used
as virtual collar plates for pets.
Companies use them to track deliveries, but
it's never been used to tag employees on a broad scale before.
Epicenter and a handful of other companies are the first
to make chip implants broadly available.
And as with most new technologies, it raises security and
privacy issues.
While biologically safe, the data generated by the chips
can show how often an employee comes to work or what they buy.
Unlike company swipe cards or smartphones, which can
generate the same data, a person cannot easily separate themselves from the
chip.
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