Coupling cargo tracked with RFID and the capabilities of a secure biometric credential will mean that all cargo and all personnel are accounted for and linked together in real time. Administrators will know the last authorized handler of each piece of cargo, where the cargo is in real time, detect deviations en route, and be assured that only those people who are authorized can access sensitive freight, tracking people’s actions and cargo location together.

Shared technologies will allow:

• Data Privacy Protection Users can have differentiated access to read the information on the RFID tag based on privileges held in their card. RFID tags created according to scramble number schemes can be used in concert with smart card capabilities; only those tags to which users have been given “rights” will be seen, added to cargo lists, or be shipped to certain geographic locations. This allows individuals to control data collection and sharing while preventing covert tracking and profiling applications based on package content.
• Linking People to Cargo Cards used for access to vehicles or facilities can be matched against cargo RFID to automatically reconcile cargo itineraries against known cargo and personnel movements. By linking people’s locations with RFID cargo locations, administrators can reduce fraud and determine the “who, when, and where” if any package loss occurs.
• Local Authorization for Inventory Movements Smart cards can act as secure, digital lists of instructions, inventory, and package recipients, allowing people who sign for packages to be verified through the use of PKI, biometrics and other digital means. If tagged packages are moved by an unauthorized person, future privileges of that person can be locked and flags can be raised to administration.
• Package- and User-based Physical Access Biometric IDs, RFID and GPS position transmitters will work together to allow secure access only to authorized persons with authorized cargo at only intended destinations. Through biometric authentication to truck ignition systems, administrators will be assured that trucks stay within specified corridors on their way to the cargo’s intended destination, that they know who is driving, and even enable them to remotely disable and lock trucks that deviate, have wrong users or wrong cargo.

Scenarios where this combination of technologies may soon be applied include HAZMAT drivers, weapons transport, banking records and even passports. Credentialing systems are already underway for the major ports of the world and will be used to link card to identity to ship to cargo, where cargo is monitored already with RFID. The future world of secure shipping will allow owners of cargo to track in real time the exact location of crate, each driver, each truck, and be sure that they are all supposed to be traveling together.

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