Companies, Agencies Use Clandestine RFID Systems to Catch Thieves

Brown likens RFID technology to a fence, which still has vulnerabilities. People can find ways around that fence, he explains, by not wearing their badge, by wearing someone else's badge or by tampering with an RFID sticker. Such vulnerabilities make video surveillance and optical dust a strong addition to RFID. The optically charged dust consists of microporous fibers that glow when exposed to low-power laser light. This luminescence is not visible to the human eye but can be detected by a video camera. The dust is scattered in areas where there is a risk of unauthorized activity, or where entry is generally forbidden.

A camera can be programmed to watch for any dust that a person might inadvertently pick by walking through an unauthorized area. When that individual passes in front of the camera, it detects the glow as the dust is illuminated by a laser and triggers an alarm. According to Brown, this system provides perimeter security from trespassers or wild animals that might enter a secured property.

Following interest from government agencies, SimplyRFID began providing its solution to the private sector, with clients (all of which wished to be unnamed for this article) located in such states as California, Texas and Florida. The systems allow them to track their employees, as well as high-value assets that, in many cases, pass through their facilities in large quantities and can end up missing.

One common practice for thieves, Brown says, is to load extra items—such as TVs or computers—onto a shipment, or to take assets to the recycling or trash area, where they can then be removed by another party. In some instances, these thefts can occur in extremely high volume, Brown says, adding that companies have had entire trailers loaded with assets disappear. Most firms, he notes, aren't interested in prosecuting, as much as in putting an end to the thievery. "The just want to find out who's doing it and stop it," he says

By placing tags on assets, as well as on personnel badges and such items as garbage cans, companies can track what is moving, and where. The cameras, Brown says, record all activity in their area and are generally used for forensic purposes. If items are determined to have been shipped when they were not ordered, and if that occurred repeatedly with one specific employee, a company can view video footage at the time of the occurrences to see what happened.