At Last! - A solution for the tinfoil hat crowd...

[brooklynite]

Consumer Security, Privacy Advanced with SMART CARD GUARD™

by National Envelope Corporation
Uniondale, NY 5-7-07

As radio frequency “smart cards” proliferate in North America, Europe and Asia, new mailing envelope and card sleeve products prevent unintended transmission or theft of personal data.

In a significant advance for consumer privacy and security worldwide, financial institutions, governments, businesses and other distributors of contactless “smart cards” now have access to lightweight card sleeves and mailing envelopes that completely shield all personal and financial information on the card’s memory chip from theft or unauthorized transmission.

National Envelope Corporation, the world’s largest envelope manufacturer, announced today that it has developed and is now marketing Smart Card Guard™, a unique and cost-effective new line of products that shield a smart card and its electronic information when mailed or carried in an individual’s purse, wallet or pocket. The company is initially targeting sales to financial services companies and government agencies, and the market is global.

Smart Card Guard™ functions by enclosing the card in a thin protective metallic barrier that is incorporated into a specially produced, easy-to-print substrate. The product prevents personal data in the smart card’s embedded integrated circuit from being transmitted via radio frequency (RF) waves to any smart card reading device.

“Unauthorized access of personal and financial information is a reality today—and the threat is growing,” said John Grymes, Chief Operating Officer of Uniondale, NY-based National Envelope.

“For issuers of smart cards, our secure mailers and card sleeves are a cost-effective, practical way to protect their organizations and assure customers that personal privacy is a top priority,” Grymes said. “For individuals with smart cards, it’s like having your sensitive personal data in a portable lead vault.”

http://www.nationalenvelope.com/prod/PressReleases.htm

All they have to do is figure out a way to weave this into clothing...

[AndyA]

1. The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority uses something that sounds like this now.

You put your Pike Pass transmitter in it so you don't have fees deducted from your account if you're traveling in someone else's car. (We have a lot of toll highways in Oklahoma, and this allows you to use all of them without stopping to pay the toll every time.)

I've heard you can also wrap them in tin foil, but don't know for sure if that really works.

[piedmont]

2. I wonder if it's just a printable Faraday cage. nt