At 01:52 AM 12/29/2001 +0100, Eugene Leitl wrote:

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2001 00:36:31 -0000 From: Andrew Hennessey <pegasus@easynet.co.uk> To: fsml@yahoogroups.com Subject: [fsml] Euro Banknotes embed RFID chips

http://www.eetimes.com/story/OEG20011219S0016

Euro bank notes to embed RFID chips by 2005

By Junko Yoshida EE Times (12/19/01, 3:03 p.m. EST)

SAN MATEO, Calif. - The European Central Bank is working with technology partners on a hush-hush project to embed radio frequency identification tags into the very fibers of euro bank notes by 2005, EE Times has learned. Intended to foil counterfeiters, the project is developing as Europe prepares for a massive changeover to the euro, and would create an instant mass market for RFID chips, which have long sought profitable application.

The banking community and chip suppliers say the integration of an RFID antenna and chip on a bank note is technically possible, but no bank notes in the world today employ such a technology. Critics say it's unclear if the technology can be implemented at a cost that can justify the effort, and question whether it is robust enough to survive the rough-and-tumble life span of paper money.

Not to mention intentional Electro-Magnetic Pulse exposure of bills to thwart the system. A cheaper and more robust solution would embed random length and oriented glass/plastic fibers in the paper. When exposed to a line illuminator as it is passed through a verifier, each bill would have a unique "illuminate here" - "light comes out there" signature that can be read out and matched to a DB generated at the mint. Because of the fiber's resilience it will be more difficult to damage or thwart than RFIDs. steve