Quote:
Originally Posted by rkomar
I don't see what the big deal is about tags on the shelves being changed by hackers. You don't pay what the tag says at the registers, you pay what the database says the price is for the scanned item.
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In the U. S. stores have to charge the price shown on the shelf, even if it is wrong, otherwise it could be considered false advertising. It doesn't matter why the tag was wrong, that is what must be charged. That's why e-ink tags will be a benefit to stores, they can be quickly and accurately changed, and can be secured against unauthorized changes.
One concern is that someone could hack into the tags and change them. One way around that is that the tags are unpowered (e-ink displays don't require power to display the tag, just to change it). To change them you must physically plug in a device to change them. The device will temporarily power the tag so it can be changed, and each tag is keyed to that specific device. An unauthorized attempt to change the tag will cause it to turn completely black.