Transhumanism II

Back with another augmentation. This time the upgrade comes in the form of an NFC implant in my left hand.

Amal, avatar to god of wideband radiation, has opened an online store. Dangerous Things provides a streamlined service for obtaining your very own human improvement kits, including a 13.56Mhz S50 NFC sterilized glass tag.

The implantation procedure was completed by the same talented medical professional. I skipped most documentation this time around since the process was identical to the previous implant.

Healing was accelerated this time, admissibly due to the anesthetic being much more limited. Regenerative superpowers have not mutated from radio wave exposure, and I have yet to be subjected to any poor plot devices.

On to the harder bit: a Samsung Galaxy S3 refit in Lawgiver fashion. This resource was by far the most useful for the phone setup. It details how with the combined powers of Secure Settings, Tasker, and NFC Task Launcher a lock screen can be triggered via NFC events.

But that wasn't quite enough. I wanted NFC to option as full authentication. NFC is verboten when the phone is locked or screen disabled due to general security concerns (Google Wallet). This required flashing a custom ROM onto the S3. I was able to pick up an ELLA-compatible ROM from XDA. With this ROM, the lock screen is not only toggled on successful read, but also can be bypassed in any given phone state.

For the more secure route, it is also possible to supplement a standard lock screen with a secondary NFC gate. This is where applications like NFCSecure come in. Though still in working stages, the concept looks promising.