U.S. to Weigh Computer Chip Implant
AP reports that a Florida technology company is poised to ask the government for permission to market a first-ever computer ID chip that could be embedded beneath a person's skin. For airports, nuclear power plants and other high security facilities, the immediate benefits could be a closer-to-foolproof security system. But privacy advocates warn the chip could lead to encroachments on civil liberties. The implant technology could someday mean no more easy-to-counterfeit ID cards nor dozing security guards. Just a computer chip — about the size of a grain of rice — that would be difficult to remove and tough to mimic. Other uses of the technology on the horizon, from an added device that would allow satellite tracking of an individual's every movement to the storage of sensitive data like medical records, are already attracting interest across the globe for tasks like foiling kidnappings or assisting paramedics. Applied Digital Solutions' new "VeriChip" is another sign that Sept. 11 has catapulted the science of security into a realm with uncharted possibilities — and also new fears for privacy. Submitted for your mark of the beast files.