Journal of Information Security, 2013, 4, 73-79 http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/jis.2013.42009 Published Online April 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/jis) RFID Applications: Prospects and Challenges in Bangladesh Abdul Kadar Muhammad Masum, Faruk Bhuiyan, Kazi Golam Azam Department of Business Administration, International Islamic University, Chittagong, Bangladesh Email: akmmasum@yahoo.com, farukbhn84@gmail.com, mdkg_azam.iiuc@yahoo.com Received September 8, 2012; revised October 1, 2012; accepted October 23, 2012 Copyright © 2013 Abdul Kadar Muhammad Masum et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Radio frequency identification (RFID) is an emerging technology, radio wave communication between a microchip and an electronic reader, consisting of data gathering, distribution, and management systems that has the ability to identify or scan information for remoting recognition of objects with increased speed and accuracy. An attempt has been made to know how using of RFID technology helps to improve services and business process efficiency in public and private sectors of Bangladesh. With this aim, we have conducted extensive literature survey. At the end of this attempt, we have come to the conclusion that the potential use of this technology includes RFID chipped passports, human implants, item-level tagging, inventory tracking and access control systems. RFID technology is at its early stage of adoption in Bangladesh with a few business applications and pilot studies. However, when tags begin to be associated with indi- viduals, privacy is threatened. RFID is a new type of threat to personal information and must be treated as such; indeed, it must be recognized that existing privacy legislation is not adequate. This paper also explores some current and emerging applications of RFID in Bangladesh and examines the challenges including privacy and ethical issues arising from its use, as well as addressing potential means of handling those issues. Keywords: RFID (Radio Frequency Identification); Potential Applications; Challenges; Bangladesh 1. Introduction RFID is not a new technology despite rapidly growing interest in RFID technology in recent years. The concept of the technology dates to the mid to late 1940s, follow- ing on from technological developments in the 1930s and the development of radar during World War II [1]. In the 1950s, several technologies related to RFID technology were developed. Technological innovations and their consequences are becoming indispensable parts of our daily lives. RFID, as one of these innovations, is a sys- tem that provides easy, secure and quick data entry, storage and transmission. It is used in many places such as shops, stores, hospitals, pharmaceuticals companies, logistic services etc. where real time data should be used. It is important in improving efficiency and visibility, cutting costs, delivering better asset utilization, produc- ing higher quality goods, reducing shrinkage and coun- terfeiting, and increasing sales by reducing out-of-stocks [2]. Most of developed and developing countries are us- ing RFID technology in their private and public sectors. Although implementing RFID technology is a com- plicated process, the right planning and development of an RFID strategy can offer important advantages to business systems and public sectors. While RFID tech- nology has received a fair amount of attention in media recently [3], many are still unfamiliar with RFID and the benefits it can offer. In the face of the need for clear, extensive information about RFID and its benefits, this paper presents the opportunities offered by the technol- ogy for any organization or any agency of Bangladesh government involved in the production, management, and sale of goods or services. In this paper, we motivate our work in Section 2, and the methodology of the research is mentioned in Section 3. Related previous study of RFID Technology is de- scribed in Section 4. Furthermore, we have briefly de- scribed the working mechanism of RFID technology and its characteristics in Sections 5 and 6. Besides, Section 7 includes RFID applications in present world. Implication of RFID Technology and its possible applications for Bangladesh are explored in Sections 8 and 9. Moreover, Considerable issues and some suggestions to implemen- Copyright © 2013 SciRes. JIS