1. Search Strategy Analysis
Toni Liberty
LIS205

2. Question: From an adult patron at the public library
• “I‟ve read some magazine articles about threats to privacy from these RFID chips and
putting them into passports. But I‟m not sure I trust the media to give it to us
straight. I want to know what real people are saying on the web…any idea where I
should start?”
▫ Key terms/concepts in question:
 Threats to our privacy
 RFID chips
 Passports
 What „real people‟ are saying

3. Concept Block
Concept 1
Concept 2
Concept 3
Identity
Identification
Media Distrust
Hacking
Technology
Blogs
Threat
RFID chips
Public forums
Privacy
Security
„real people‟
discussions
Passport

4. Search Strategy
• Fielded search:
▫ Search within only blogs and public forums
 Searching for non-article/news media related information
• Boolean logic:
▫ Public forum (RFID chips AND privacy AND passports)
▫ Blog (RFID chips AND privacy AND passports)

5. Search Engine: KartOO
Brief History
• KartOO was created by French cousins
Laurent and Nicholas Baleydier in
2001.
• The site‟s original design delivered
search results in a visual map.
• This version of the site closed in 2010.
KartOO Today
• It is a metasearch engine that strives
to produce the most accurate search
results.
• KartOO sorts search results based on
proprietary algorithms
• Editors check the quality of each
website in KartOO‟s index.
• A semi-automated validation process
provides the highest quality and most
relevant results.
*note: in other country version descriptions, it is noted that KartOO does not install
cookies to save search terms, but does not state this policy on US version description.

6. Search Result 1/10
•
www.survivalistboards.com
▫ General Discussion: “RFID Chips in Passports?!?!?”
 Public forum
 Discussed ways to disable RFID chips so they cannot be hacked
 Users posted links they found to websites detailing ways to disable the chips, how RFID
tracking works
 Comical commenting: YouTube video of flamethrowers as way to destroy tracking device
Search Result 2/10
•
•
www.securityfocus.com
Community source for information about security
▫ Brief summary of including RFID chips in passports
▫ Linked words in summary to research done by a security researcher about why chips are a
security risk
Search Result 3/10
•
www.petitiononline.com
▫ Chance to sign an anonymous petition to take RFID chips out of passports
▫ Author writes about not giving consent to release personal information via the chip

7. Search Result 4/10
•
www.rfidjournal.com/blogs/privacy
▫ RFID Privacy Forum – Consumer Group offers new materials for understanding RFID
 Linked to consumer advocacy group, National Consumers League, that created an
area on its webpage dedicated solely to information about RFID chips
 Post explains credibility/reliability of information used by advocacy group
 Forum part of RFID Journal – website totally dedicated to information on RFID
technology
Search Result 5/10
•
www.nowpublic.com
▫ “Crowd powered media”; contributions first published mostly in Creative Commons
 Initial link to a photograph of how a hacker may view information obtained from an
RFID chip using computer software that enables the hacker to edit passport
information
 Link on right side of page will send viewer to the article of the author‟s reaction to a
Wired News article on e-passports
 Within this post are links to other blogs that have posted reactions to RFID chips
and e-passports

8. Search Result 6/10
•
www.pcworld.com
▫ Article: US Require RFID Chips in Passports
 One comment below the article reflects on the question to whether RFID chips are legal or
in fact a violation of the 4th Amendment
Search Result 7/10
•
www.wikipedia.com
▫ Radio-frequency Identification Wiki
 Multitude of publicly generated content explaining the
history, design, uses, mandates, regulations, problems, controversies
 Links to other websites, reference
Search Result 8/10
•
www.wired.com
▫ Article: Feds Rethinking RFID Passport
 Links to Basic Access Control
 What is BAC?
▫ Way to improve RFID security

9. Search Result 9/10
•
www.epic.org
▫ Electronic Privacy Information Center
 Nonprofit public interest research center, focused on civil liberties, protection, privacy, 1st
Amendment rights
 Top recent news summaries about RFID
 Intro, history, future, privacy risks
 EPIC resources
 Links to RFID news articles
 Previous top news about RFID
 External resources
Search Result 10/10
•
travel.state.gov
▫ US Dept. of State – Bureau of Consular Affairs website
▫ Article: The US Electronic Passport
 Relevant to search: FAQs

10. Analyzing the Results
• KartOO returned just the 10 cited webpages in response to my query.
• All resources were at least 5 years old at this point, it is unclear how often the KartOO
index is updated, if at all.
• Provided mostly publicly generated materials, little news articles and only one
government website on the issue.
• Multitude of sources would adequately answer the patron‟s question on personal
security regarding RFID chips in passports.
▫
Overall satisfaction with the scope and range of search results.
Reference:
Kartoo. (n.d.) Accessed October 30, 2013.<www.kartoo.com>
Kartoo. (n.d.) Retrieved October 30, 2013 from the Kartoo Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kartoo