[funsec] FW: Two U.S. Employees Injected with RFID Microchips at Company Request

[Richard M. Smith]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2006

TWO U.S. EMPLOYEES INJECTED WITH RFID MICROCHIPS AT COMPANY REQUEST 
Government Contractor Adopts Controversial VeriChip Implant in Workplace

Cincinnati video surveillance company CityWatcher.com now requires employees
to use VeriChip human implantable microchips to enter a secure data center,
Network Administrator Khary Williams told Liz McIntyre by phone yesterday.
McIntyre, co-author of "Spychips: How Major Corporations and Government Plan
to Track Your Every Move with RFID,"
contacted CityWatcher after it announced it had integrated the VeriChip
VeriGuard product into its access control system.

The VeriChip is a glass encapsulated RFID tag that is injected into the
flesh of the triceps area of the arm to uniquely number and identify
individuals. The tag can be read through a person's clothing, silently and
invisibly, by radio waves from a few inches away. The highly controversial
device is being marketed as a way to access secure areas, link to medical
records, and serve as a payment instrument when associated with a credit
card.

According to Williams, a local doctor has already implanted two of
CityWatcher's employees with the VeriChip devices. "I will eventually"
receive an implant, too, he added. In the meantime, Williams accesses the
data center with a VeriChip implant housed in a heart-shaped plastic casing
that hangs from his keychain. He told McIntyre he had no qualms about
undergoing the implantation procedure himself, and said he would receive an
implant as soon as time permits.

"lt worries us that a government contractor that specializes in surveillance
projects would be the first to publicly incorporate this technology in the
workplace," said McIntyre. CityWatcher provides video surveillance,
monitoring and video storage for government and businesses, with cameras set
up on public streets throughout Cincinatti.

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