Tom Ridge has gone on to bigger Homeland Security green pastures. The connections that he has with Bushco, and Security Issues and now RFIDs is not only curious, but down right terrifying.
Tom Ridge, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, has joined the board of directors of Savi Technology, a leading RFID solutions provider based in Silicon Valley. Ridge, a former governor of the state of Pennsylvania, was appointed by the Bush administration to lead the Department of Homeland Security upon its inception shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new department, with Ridge at the helm, was under constant scrutiny from the press for the first few years, and Tom Ridge became a household name for many Americans. He resigned late last year, writing in his resignation letter, “After more than twenty-two consecutive years of public service, it is time to give personal and family matters a higher priority.”
Savi’s news that Former Secretary Ridge has joined its board of directors is a boon for the company that was founded around RFID child-tracking but quickly evolved into a supply chain visibility pure-play. Not only is Ridge high-profile, as former Secretary of Homeland Security he is seasoned in the challenges and opportunities that concern protecting goods coming across U.S. borders from abroad. His selection of Savi as a company with which to get involved therefore represents a strong vote of confidence from a veritable expert in the space. Ridge was quoted as saying, “Savi is a leader in the development of RFID solutions in both the government and commercial sectors and I believe there is a real opportunity to improve the management and security of global supply chains using this technology.”
Savi is actually not Ridge’s entrée into the RFID market. A number of weeks ago it was announced that he would be giving the keynote address at this year’s RFID Journal Live!, being held next week in Chicago.
Ridge’s interest in RFID reaffirms what many in our market already know: the technology will prove a key facilitator of supply chain management and visibility, and consequently, security. There is a certain prestige in being closely associated with the first Homeland Security Secretary that can only serve to further adoption of RFID and secure the attention of those that have not yet taken much notice of its potential.
If you still are not concerned about being CHIPPED consider this: Electronic tags for eggs, sperm and embryos. Imagine the ramifications of ‘tracking an abortion’ scenario.
And this reminder:
“Surgichip” wins US approval:
SurgiChip, is what seems to be a Verichip like device, aims to prevent wrongful procedures that records show kill thousands of patients a year. SurgiChip is the first surgical marking device approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
to use radio frequency identification (RFID). The FDA has also endorsed the same technology to track drugs on their journey from manufacturing plants to pharmacists’ shelves.
And this:
Technology innovation will continue to outstrip privacy legislation
Published: 18th January 2005
By: Bob McDowall
Contact The Author
Channel: Business and Finance
A recent edition of Fortune Magazine reported that an independent body of experts was commissioned by the US Defense Secretary to evaluate the privacy implications of a proposed universal database holding billions, if not trillions, of pieces of information about the citizens of the USA. “In concluding that today’s privacy laws are often inadequate to keep up with the new technologies for snooping … ” the body of independent experts observed that” … these inadequacies will only become more acute as the store of digital data and the ability to search it continue to expand dramatically in the future.” “9/11” created an environment where comprehensive programmes for gathering information and verification of the identity of individuals has been encouraged by national governments as a critical mechanism to for combat the threat of terrorism through identification of prospective terrorists. Much of this information is openly and directly obtained from individuals, albeit that they have little option but to provide it; other information has been gained by covert methods.
