Just got my new "Enhanced" Drivers License

[Dyepaintball12]

So on a recent trip back from Windsor the border agent accurately relayed to me that the birthday on my passport is not correct. (It says the 1st when mine is the 9th, same month but I never changed it because it has never been an issue and I always forget).

So anyways to save time I apply for a Michigan "Enhanced" Drivers license which is basically embedded with RFID technology and it allows entry to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean without a passport.

It came in the mail today, and with it is a small, ID sized seemingly paper "sleeve" which they refer to as a "radio frequency protection sleeve". It says to keep your ID in the sleeve while not in use "to prevent unauthorized Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers."

It looks and feels like a tiny envelope made of paper. What is this thing made out of that can keep out invaders?

In relation to blackjack, couldn't you just pocket a purple or yellow chip and slip it into this sleeve and the casino would lose track of it?


- Dye

 

[zengrifter]

See - The REAL ID Betrayal

I wrote this piece while living in a federal halfway house. zg

Computer (RFID) microchip? Likely. Digital fingerprint? Sure. Political affiliation? You bet. Web-site-visit log and religious affiliation and recent sperm count and arrest record and drug addictions and medical history and blood type and gender orientation and parent's/children's home address and number of personal blog posts calling Dr. Phil a "slug-licking ego-bitch charlatan" and your recent purchase history on (Dead link: http://www.shot-at-home.com?) One guess.

 

[creeping panther]

Dye

So on a recent trip back from Windsor the border agent accurately relayed to me that the birthday on my passport is not correct. (It says the 1st when mine is the 9th, same month but I never changed it because it has never been an issue and I always forget).

So anyways to save time I apply for a Michigan "Enhanced" Drivers license which is basically embedded with RFID technology and it allows entry to Canada, Mexico, and the Caribbean without a passport.

It came in the mail today, and with it is a small, ID sized seemingly paper "sleeve" which they refer to as a "radio frequency protection sleeve". It says to keep your ID in the sleeve while not in use "to prevent unauthorized Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers."

It looks and feels like a tiny envelope made of paper. What is this thing made out of that can keep out invaders?

In relation to blackjack, couldn't you just pocket a purple or yellow chip and slip it into this sleeve and the casino would lose track of it?


- Dye

Welcome to the club. Special foil in that sleeve.

Now enjoy Windsor and all it has to offer

CP

 

[Automatic Monkey]

...It looks and feels like a tiny envelope made of paper. What is this thing made out of that can keep out invaders?

Mu metal! It's a nickel-alloy foil having very high magnetic permeability. "Permeability" in this sense is used differently than the way we normally use that word, it means the ability of the material to convert the magnetic field to a current which flows through it instead of energizing the RFID circuit in the card.

You can buy mu metal foil from the McMaster-Carr catalog and make your own very effective RFID shields.

 

[blackjack avenger]

I'LL Take the Under

In less then 10 yrs. the sleeve won't be included.

 

[MangoJ]

You won't need Mu metal to shield RFID, it's expensive and breaks easily anyway.

Mu metal is made for shielding quasi-static magnetic fields. This is not the kind of radiation used for RFID. Just any metal with a mesh size considerably smaller than the RFID wave length (even for 6 GHz it is 2") will do. Cheapest one is kitchen foil (aluminium).

 

[Solo player]

What about credit cards

I also just got the enhanced license.

But it made me wonder about my debit card that is rfid as well. Could the info on the card be stolen if I walked by some type of scanner? No protective sleeve for that one.

 

[johndoe]

You won't need Mu metal to shield RFID, it's expensive and breaks easily anyway.

Mu metal is made for shielding quasi-static magnetic fields. This is not the kind of radiation used for RFID. Just any metal with a mesh size considerably smaller than the RFID wave length (even for 6 GHz it is 2") will do. Cheapest one is kitchen foil (aluminium).

Agreed. Mu-metal is pretty expensive, too. (At least compared to foil!)

Good anti-static bags will work as well, since they have enough conductivity to operate as an effective RF shield. That's probably what the sleeve is made from.

 

[Automatic Monkey]

You won't need Mu metal to shield RFID, it's expensive and breaks easily anyway.

Mu metal is made for shielding quasi-static magnetic fields. This is not the kind of radiation used for RFID. Just any metal with a mesh size considerably smaller than the RFID wave length (even for 6 GHz it is 2") will do. Cheapest one is kitchen foil (aluminium).

What about the 100 KHz RFID band?

 

[MangoJ]

What about the 100 KHz RFID band?

You're right. 100kHz must be considered slow and thus needs higher permeability for shielding. You would then indeed need MU metal or iron.

 

[zengrifter]

In less then 10 yrs. the sleeve won't be included.

In less than 10 years the card won't be included either, just the RFID itself. zg