Concerned that your tin-foil hat is not completely eradicating the threat of radio-frequency identity (RFID) devices? Fortunately the web has the answer, or at least two enterprising German enthusiasts with a web site have the answer. Simply disassemble a disposable camera, throw away the film and the flash bulb, solder a hand-wound coil of wire to the high-discharge capacitor that normally powers the flash and, hey presto, you have a pocket electromagnetic-pulse generator, capable of frying the sensitive innards of RFID chips by overloading their inductive power-supply circuits.

As the German pair cautions, however, these home-brew liberation devices are not without their risks because (a) “RFID-zappers don’t comply with [Ofcom] rules” on radio broadcasts; (b) “If the capacitor is still charged fully or partly, you might catch yourself an electric shock”; and, most importantly, (c) “Soldering irons are known to be unpleasantly hot at the tip”.

03 May 2006