Mythbusters Weren’t Allowed to Air RFID Segment

One video that seems to be spreading around the web like wildfire is of Adam Savage, who in a talk tells all about the Mythbusters’ inability to show their findings with RFID’s hackable on the show. The talk happened at the Hackers On Planet Earth conference that occurred this past July, which I covered here. In this video (embedded below), Adam is asked by an audience member why they haven’t tackled RFID, and it becomes obvious quick that there’s a big problem surrounding why.

As he points out, quite simply, the credit card companies stepped in, because after all, they are the leaders in RFID usage, so who can blame them? Well, if only all of us thought like that, and I’m sure by now many of us already know just how hackable RFID really is. It’s just too bad the general masses do not.

During the same talk, Adam goes on about the shows’ inability to do a segment on teeth whiteners, as they were stopped by the toothpaste companies. Since Discovery Channel is funded by commercials, to show such a segment would jeopardize their revenue. Adam stated that they found the ‘whitening strips’ to do absolutely nothing, although I have other people who tell me they do work, and they’re living proof. That one might have to be proven in your own house. Regardless, it’s not surprising that the show is shaped in such a way, but it’s still too bad.

“Oh dude, the RFID thing. I’m sorry, it’s just not going to happen. Here’s what happened, and I’m not sure how much of the story I’m allowed to tell, but I’ll tell you what I know. We were going to do RFID, on several levels, how hackable, how reliable, how trackable, et cetera, and one of our researchers contacted Texas Instruments…”