CryptKey puts data security in your hands

If I can use the chip in my watch or my phone to pay my bill at a store’s checkout counter, why couldn’t I have a chip implanted in my body and just wave as I walk out? Popular Science writer Rose Eveleth had that idea in mind when she had an RFID chip implanted in her hand.    

The chip she got isn’t powerful enough to run payment software, but the technology implantable chips is moving in that direction. And there’s a non-profit group called CryptKey that is creating an encryption application that will allow secure communication and data storage in a world of implanted devices.

The CryptKey app works with a tiny RFID transponder implant that like the one Eveleth got inserted into the web of her hand between her thumb and index finger. In the CryptKey application, the implanted transponder would be readable from any NFC-enabled mobile device.

On their website, the CryptKey developers describe the importance of the implant:

This attribute, which requires no battery, then acts as a convenient wireless form of physical authentication between the implanted transponder and any NFC enabled devices. When used in conjunction with our app, nobody can access your data except you.

The CryptKey developers says they know that a body hack for security might seem a bit extreme to most people. But it might be a viable solution for investigative journalists, government employees or whistleblowers.

For a closer look at the future of personal data privacy, check out the CryptKey website where you can sign up to be notified when the app is released and contribute to the organization’s work.

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Written by Ric Manning

Follow me on Twitter @ricmanning and read my technology columns at My Well Being.