As giant American retailer Wal-mart moves RFID from the warehouse into the display stands, some are concerned about the potential privacy risks.

With over 250 million RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tags being put into Wal-Mart’s menswear range across Wal-Marts 3,750 US stores, the RFID Security Alliance has responded to inquiries from the public questioning the security and privacy of their personal information and their risks when purchasing such merchandise.

“We at the RFID SA take an active role to educate the industry and lay person of the advantages and risks associated with RFID based solutions and are deeply committed to insuring that everyone’s information remains private and secure in a well implemented RFID solution,” said RFID SA Chairman Michael McCartney.

He continued “In reviewing the details of this use-case we find the threat to privacy to be very low and in fact not dissimilar to that of bar codes that it is designed to replace. The removable tags are attached to the garment in the same manner as the conventional bar code tags, with a plastic or cotton loop or tie.

“Additionally, once removed, these tags can also be permanently disabled with a pair of scissors rendering them irrevocably unreadable so even once the tag is disposed of at the home, the tag can no longer be accessed.”

RFID SA has moved to reassure the public that information in the tags is basic inventory information used to keep track of in stock jeans and apparel items.

“The RFID SA seriously doubt how useful this non-personal information might be to anyone other than Wal-Mart.

“RFID can provide huge cost savings to the industry that will also be passed onto the consumer and will also allow faster and more efficient checkout and returns. While a poorly implemented system could be open to risk, the RFID SA is promoting industry best practices to insure all RFID implementations provide all the benefits with minimal risks.”