Topic

Access Control & Security

RFID and NFC access control, credentialing, cryptography, and physical security research.

Original coverage

Secure NFC Authentication Starts Beyond the Static UID

A unique number can identify a tag, but cryptographic verification and a protected application flow are needed to establish authenticity.

News wire

newsRFID NewsOctober 29, 2026 Europe

Delhi’s RFID border tolls go free-flow, eight years after the first tags

Delhi is implementing multi-lane free-flow tolling at 20 border points using RFID, number-plate cameras, and radar. Implementation follows the installation of the city's first border RFID tags eight years earlier and follows a tender that survived a High Court challenge in July 2026.

newsRFID NewsOctober 27, 2026 Europe

Interview: Gary Moskovciak on the RFID Business Case and the Limits of Cheaper Tags

SML Group Chief Commercial Officer Gary Moskovciak discusses the components of an RFID business case and the limits of historically falling tag prices. This analysis highlights concerns that tag prices may no longer follow the previous rate of decline.

newsRFID NewsOctober 13, 2026 Europe

Senec locks its semi-underground waste containers behind an RFID chip in Salamka

Senec has implemented RFID-controlled access for semi-underground waste container enclosures, requiring residents to use the same chips already utilized for local collection yard entry. This development suggests a growing trend of integrating municipal waste management systems by utilizing a single RFID credential for multiple sanitation services.

newsRFID JournalOctober 12, 2026 Global

California Cannabis Dispensary Launch First RFID-Powered Technology

A licensed cannabis retailer in California has received approval to implement RFID-powered self-checkout technology on its sales floor. This development suggests that RFID systems may be increasingly utilized to streamline transactions and maintain regulatory compliance within highly controlled retail environments.

newsRFID NewsOctober 9, 2026 Europe

Patent office finds core claims of RFID consumable-tagging patent unpatentable

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is reviewing a Stratasys patent concerning the use of RFID tags to authenticate 3D printing filament, a process the patent documentation characterizes as digital rights management. This development suggests that companies across various sectors utilizing tag-authenticated consumables should monitor the legal docket for potential changes to the intellectual property landscape.

newsRFID NewsOctober 9, 2026 Europe

Paying more for access control that doesn’t work: Gurugram residents protest over failed RFID gates

Residents of a Gurugram township are protesting increased maintenance fees alongside the failure of RFID tags, boom barriers, and perimeter fencing to provide functional access control. This development suggests that even when smart technology is purchased, improper installation or neglected upkeep can lead to significant user dissatisfaction and disputes over service value.

newsRFID NewsOctober 9, 2026 Europe

Worcestershire libraries RFID self-service saves £300,000 in staff costs

Worcestershire libraries have implemented Lyngsoe HF RFID kiosks for self-service book issuing and returns to facilitate unstaffed operating hours. This deployment suggests that integrating RFID access control with self-service hardware can significantly reduce labor expenses in public sector environments.

press releaseRFID NewsOctober 8, 2026 Europe

Denbighshire Council launches greener staff travel support with RFID-controlled EV pool fleet

Denbighshire County Council has deployed electric vans equipped with dashboard-mounted RFID readers to link vehicle usage to specific staff members who have completed a mandatory training course. For the RFID industry, this demonstrates a practical application of access control technology to manage accountability and driver eligibility within a diverse municipal zero-emission fleet.

press releaseRFID NewsOctober 7, 2026 Europe

NFC Forum Announces Winners for 2026 NFC Forum Innovation Awards

The NFC Forum announced winners of the 2026 Innovation Awards, highlighting technologies including a phone-powered padlock, a communication system between cooktops and pans, and cattle tags that store records locally. These developments suggest a trend toward decentralized data storage and harvesting energy from mobile devices, potentially reducing reliance on external databases and internal batteries for specialized NFC applications.

newsRFID NewsOctober 6, 2026 Europe

RFID and the Metaverse: Physical Products in Virtual Worlds

Luxury brands are embedding NFC and UHF inlays into physical items to serve as authentication keys for digital twins and exclusive virtual content. This development positions RFID technology as the functional link for verifying ownership of physical goods within metaverse platforms.

newsRFID NewsOctober 3, 2026 Europe

RFID Tag Memory: EPC, TID, User Banks Explained

EPC Gen2 tags are designed with four distinct memory banks, one of which contains a kill password capable of permanently deactivating the device. Effective deployment and security strategies depend on the proper management of Reserved, EPC, TID, and User memory areas to avoid vulnerabilities such as clear-text password exposure during encoding.

newsRFID NewsSeptember 30, 2026 Europe

Honeywell Technologies Modernizes Barracks Access Management for U.S. Marine Corps Worldwide

Honeywell has implemented the LenelS2 OnGuard platform to manage tens of thousands of locks across U.S. Marine Corps barracks, utilizing ISO/IEC 14443 contactless Common Access Cards and introducing mobile credentials. This deployment suggests that large-scale military housing is shifting toward unified, high-frequency RFID architectures to replace labor-intensive legacy access management systems.

newsRFID NewsSeptember 29, 2026 Europe

RAIN in Action Madrid, day one: RAIN enabled smartphones, sensing, and a pair of socks

The RAIN in Action event in Madrid featured discussions regarding RAIN-enabled smartphones, NFC integration points, and unresolved privacy concerns. These topics suggest a continued industry effort to evaluate the feasibility of integrating RAIN technology into consumer mobile devices.

newsRFID NewsSeptember 24, 2026 Europe

Islamic Civilization Center, Tashkent: 200,000-tag RFID library build with Bibliotheca and SmartLibrary

Bibliotheca and SmartLibrary have completed a 200,000-tag RFID deployment at the Islamic Civilization Center in Tashkent, equipping the facility with self-service kiosks and specialized shielded workstations for handling rare manuscripts. This large-scale installation demonstrates the growing demand for sophisticated archival tracking systems in Central Asia and reinforces RFID’s role in modernizing the preservation of culturally significant collections.

newsRFID NewsSeptember 23, 2026 Europe

Barcelona trials NFC wristbands and keyrings as discreet alarm triggers at La Mercè 2026

Barcelona is piloting 3,000 passive NFC wristbands and keyrings during the La Mercè festival to serve as discreet emergency triggers when tapped against a user's smartphone. This deployment demonstrates how low-cost passive tags can be integrated with mobile infrastructure to enhance public safety without the high hardware costs or battery requirements of active tracking devices.

newsRFID NewsSeptember 23, 2026 Europe

The NFC Forum shortlisted ten finalists for 2026 Innovation Awards

The NFC Forum has unveiled ten finalists for its 2026 Innovation Awards, notably excluding traditional payment and ticketing solutions in favor of industrial applications like battery-free lockout devices and sensor-equipped cookware. This shift highlights a commercial pivot toward NFC’s role in the Internet of Things (IoT) and supply chain integrity, moving the technology beyond smartphones and into specialized industrial and consumer hardware.