Can RFID Effectively Reduce Theft of High-Value Items?

I am looking for a small security tag that is slightly visible, in order to reduce the theft of devices such as hard drives, ink cartridges and so forth. Can powder-based RFID be mixed with glue or paint, and be injected into the surface of a hard disk? And can it be identified through a security gate [alarm system]?

—Name withheld, Australia

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There are RF-resonant inks that can be used to identify objects. These could potentially be painted onto devices so that if someone were to walk out with a hard drive, an alarm would sound if the ink was detected. It’s also possible to embed RFID tags in these devices, or to affix a small label. However, the system is easily defeated, as RF energy can be blocked by the human body, or by tin-foil lining in a handbag.

—Mark Roberti, Editor, RFID Journal