These Jeans Will Keep Hackers Out of Your Pants
December 18, 2014
Ever been worried that someone will try to hack the pants off you?
Well, fear no more! A clothing company Betabrand has teamed up with the scaremongerers over at anti-virus firm Norton to make jeans capable of blocking wireless signals.
Apparently this will stop thieves from nefariously gaining access to all your radio frequency identification (RFID) tagged payment cards and documents.
RFID chips transmit data wirelessly over radio signals, and have become quite standard for things like credit cards and passports. According to Norton, about 10 million people a year get their virtual data pickpocketed every year.
Indeed, Kickstarter has been rife with wallet projects touting RFID protection for a couple of years already.
San Francisco-based Betabrand says the jeans, which use a silver-based material to block signals, feature two RFID-blocking pockets to defeat scanning devices. They also boast a “gusseted crotch for better range of movement” and “reinforced belt loops.” Because your belts can never be too secure either.
The rest of the pant make-up seems fairly standard, with “subtly stretchy denim (88% cotton, 10% poly, 2% spandex).” They can apparently be machine washed cold and line dried.
The firm is also offering a hack-proof blazer, but with only one RFID blocking pocket, and a warning that it’s “dry clean only” the product doesn’t seem quite as popular as the flagship pant product.
Both items are being pre-sold using the ever-popular crowdfunding model.
The jeans ($151) are currently funded to 144% of goal, while the blazer ($198) has only a paltry 20% support rate.
Both products are due to ship in February 2015.
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