When the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic began to spread in various parts of Asia in 2003, it was mobile service providers who contributed to the dissemination of important information through the short message service (SMS). Sunday Communications, a Hong Kong mobile operator provided up-to-date information about SARS-infected buildings, giving travelers and locals the ability to reduce the risk of becoming infected. By messaging the SARS number, subscribers would request that their phones be tracked and sent a warning of the potential risk of being in a particular calling zone. During the crisis the Singaporean economy was so hard hit that there were serious suggestions that travelers be tagged with an external radiofrequency identification (RFID) chip that could provide a contact “track and trace” history of their whereabouts.

In 2004, the VeriChip corporation launched their implantable RFID chip technology business for safety and rescue operations, in response to the 9/11 tragedy. In late 2009, VeriChip acquired Steel Vault Corporation and rebranded as Positive ID. At the end of 2010, the company patented an implantable virus detection system for humans. The integrated system for bio-threats (pandemic, emerging diseases, bioterrorism) presently being developed can be used for both surveillance and early warning of known agents or those characterized during an outbreak event. The pandemic virus triage system prototype uses virus sensors for the H1N1 swine flu, the H5N1 bird flu and SARS. The three stages include: (i) identification of an agent (virus or non-virus), (ii) an alert to the user warning of the presence of the pandemic virus, and (iii) identification of the precise pathogen. It is the implantable glucose sensor which will house an integrated bio-sensing RFID microchip to measure a person’s glucose levels and act as a point-of-care clinical test for various influenza strains.

This paper will discuss the social implications of using embedded identification technologies together with mobile technology for national security purposes.