Swedish company employees implant NFC chips

One hundred and fifty ‘cyborgs’ are walking around in the Swedish Epicenter Digital Innovation business center. Since January 2015, some of the 2,000 employees at the property have had a microchip implanted in their hand. The chip works via NFC and has the function of a swipe card.

The microchip, which is implanted with a needle, according to the Associated Press, is about the size of a grain of rice. With this chip, the ‘cyborgs’ can open doors, operate printers or pay at the cash register in the canteen with a simple hand gesture. In fact, the functions of keys and credit cards are taken over by this chip.

The chip works via NFC. In communication with other devices in the vicinity, the implant can only transmit data and cannot read information from other devices. These chips are already being used to identify pets or to track packages.

Inserting the chip into the hand is said to pose no risk to the worker. The question is, however, whether there are any risks to the privacy of the employees. Data is produced via the chip that can show how often an employee comes to work and what he pays in the canteen.

Ben Libberton, a Swedish microbiologist, has expressed concern about the risks. According to him, hackers can in theory obtain a lot of information if the chip is hacked. Over time, if the microchips become more sophisticated and measure and track more information, hackers can gain access to information about, for example, health, how often and how long they work and when they take a break or visit the toilet.

The 150 cyborgs in the Swedish company have not been deterred by this. They indicate that they enjoy trying new things and emphasize the ease of opening doors, for example, with a simple hand movement. One of them says she had the chip implanted because she wants to be part of the future. Incidentally, this is not the first time that employees of organizations have implanted NFC chips. There have been several experiments with this in recent years.